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Dayton’s East End Takes On Heroin Epidemic

Twin Towers in Dayton. St. Mary's Church, in the background, is central to the neighborhood's history. east side east end
Lewis Wallace
/
WYSO

Accidental overdoses, including those caused by heroin, continue to rise in Ohio and in Montgomery County. Now a local non-profit is joining the fight to turn those numbers around.

On Wednesday evening East End Community Services trained local residents how to administer an overdose medicine, naloxone, which interrupts the effects of heroin or morphine overdose.

“This is really out of our realm, to be perfectly honest for East End,” says Amanda Arrington, the Director of Community Development. “We’re not a treatment center, we don’t do substance abuse counseling...but we’re really kind of jumping in to this whole opiate, overdose epidemic that we have.”

A state law just passed in March got rid of restrictions on administering naloxone; previously, only medical professionals and people with prescriptions could carry and administer naloxone. A doctor was on hand for Wednesday’s training and about 30 kits were distributed.

Community workers say the heroin problem is particularly devastating in east Dayton. This week the Dayton Daily News reported a 31-year-old man and his mother overdosed on heroin in east Dayton—the younger man died, while the woman recovered in the hospital.  

“We could be saving lives,” says Arrington.

Jerry began volunteering at WYSO in 1991 and hosting Sunday night's Alpha Rhythms in 1992. He joined the YSO staff in 2007 as Morning Edition Host, then All Things Considered. He's hosted Sunday morning's WYSO Weekend since 2008 and produced several radio dramas and specials . In 2009 Jerry received the Best Feature award from Public Radio News Directors Inc., and was named the 2023 winner of the Ohio Associated Press Media Editors Best Anchor/News Host award. His current, heart-felt projects include the occasional series Bulletin Board Diaries, which focuses on local, old-school advertisers and small business owners. He has also returned as the co-host Alpha Rhythms.
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