- In North Carolina, Mecklenburg County Launches New “Post-Overdose Response Team To Reduce The Number Of Deadly Overdoses.” For WFAE News, Elvis Menayese reports on the county’s new quick response team composed of “two paramedics and two counselors…[in county vehicles] equipped with items such as Narcan, which counteract opioid overdoses… who respond to people who have just experienced an overdose and “offer them treatment on the spot… [as well as] connection to [addiction] services.”
- In Detroit, Quick Response Team Is Helping Reduce Overdoses In The City. For Fox2, Scott Wolchek reports on the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights which has seen a 45% decrease in overdose deaths since 2021, which police leaders attributed to the launch of the city’s quick response team. The team “responds to situations involving overdoses or drugs… offers peer-to-peer outreach and various resources to combat addiction” and “the approach is paying off,” Sterling Heights Police Chief Andy Satterfield explained to the news station. “The old ways of just arresting someone and getting them in the system and they get out and still have the addiction problem [doesn’t work, because] we didn’t give them any solutions and then they’re back involved when they’re out….this is …an innovative approach to actually address the core of the problem—which is the addiction issue,” Satterfield said.
- In Ohio, “Quick Response Team Credited For Helping Reduce Overdose Deaths.” WJER News reports that New Philadelphia’s quick response team has been a key factor in “reducing the number of overdoses in the area.” The team, composed of medics and healthcare professionals, “reach out to individuals who have experienced a non-fatal overdose and help them find resources and treatment options.” Kevin Milligan, the city’s Safety Director who oversees emergency services, told the news station that “overdoses requiring EMS response are down nearly 50 percent in both the city and the county” since the launch of the team last year.