Strongsville Police are working with a local coalition taking a new, community-based approach to tackling the heroin/opioid abuse epidemic.
Greater Than Heroin is a group of civic and faith leaders in northeast Ohio seeking to spread awareness of the addiction problem and make it easier for addicts to find treatment.
The group has launched
GreaterThanHeroin.com, which offers a list of resources for those seeking treatment, information or hope.
Police Chief Mark Fender said many suburbs, including Strongsville, are trying to find a system to deal with the growing addiction problem and believe a community-based approach involving the police department, churches, hospitals and other agencies may be the best option.
Another local resource is provided by the Dalton Foundation, which seeks to give addicts and those in recovery an easy way to find help.
The foundation has set up
Relink.org, a website that gives quick, user-friendly access to lists of agencies that offer treatment for addictions, as well as housing, medical care, education and other programs for those in recovery or re-entering society after incarceration.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, opioid overdose deaths in Ohio soared from 336 in 2001 to 2,106 in 2014. In Cuyahoga County, there were at least 517 deaths from heroin/fentanyl in 2016 – more than double the 228 in 2015.