Akron has a drug problem. A big drug problem. In fact, the city has seen a 140% increase in drug overdose deaths so far this year. Blame Covid. Blame fentanyl. Or blame the still lingering opioid epidemic. Better yet, blame all three. Because it’s undoubtedly all three that are combining to make Akron #1 in the drug death charts.
Heroin outreach often does more than it’s intended; however the HOPE Initiative proves it can do even more still. Much more. Then again, when the local FBI office leads the charge and a region’s best and brightest high schoolers are issued a challenge, well, more is pretty much par for the course.
Remember when “experts” forecasted a pandemic baby boom? That all those couples stuck at home together would naturally make more babies? Well, it never happened. Something else happened though. Something not nice at all. See, instead of making more babies, people went and did more drugs. A lot more drugs.
Well, the numbers are in — and they’re devastating. In fact, as well as in effect. America’s drug overdose death rate surpassed all previous records. It’s not a record we wanted to surpass either. Not ever.
West Dundee isn’t the first place you’d equate with heroin. Heck, it’s probably not even the thousand and first. But that doesn’t mean the drug can’t affect its residents. Or its families.
