Officials are calling it the worst heroin epidemic Western Pennsylvania has ever seen and they need everyone’s help to clean up our towns.
“Every day on the news it seems like there’s either another drug bust or another overdose or another arrest of somebody who’s using heroin specifically,” said Durean Coleman of Peniel Treatment Center.
Our area is seeing a growing number of heroin overdoses, many of which have been linked to what police are calling a “bad batch.”
Seventeen people overdosed in just four days.
“Heroin kinda has a, you know, snowball effect,” Freedom Township Police Assistant Chief Nathan Claycomb said. “You know, it’s a very addictive drug.”
The deadly drug it making its way across our region. It was most recently taken off the streets in Altoona Wednesday when two people were arrested for transporting more than 100 packets of heroin from Johnstown.
“We’ve seen the influx in our community of the heroin problem and, of course, dealing with what we deal with in treatment we’re seeing more and more clients come in with a heroin problem,” Coleman said.
Peniel Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center is working to be proactive to help prevent the problem.
“I think it helps the police because we are removing a little bit of that demand,” Coleman said.
They said the epidemic needs to be attacked from all angles to make progress.
“When you see drug use in your area, usually you end up having crimes of those natures spike,” Claycomb said.
“The possibility still exists to see this problem overcome,” Colemand said. “Is it a large problem? Yes. Does it seem difficult, perhaps even impossible? Certainly. But we believe that there is always hope.”
The police said they need the public’s help to put an end to the heroin problem across the state.
