The Chicago Department of Public Health will partner with the West Side Heroin/Opioid Task Force over the next 10 weeks to share resources with the communities most impacted by opioid-related overdoses in recent years. [Health News Illinois]

The health agency said it will send trained outreach workers to neighborhoods on the city’s west side, with the goal to cover nearly 1,300 blocks that experienced at least one overdose-related emergency medical service response last year.

Along with offering harm reduction kits that include Narcan and test strips to check for the presence of fentanyl, workers will also educate individuals on a state program that offers free, same-day access to medications to treat opioid use disorder.

“We have tools to help prevent fatal overdoses,” Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige said in a statement.

There were 1,397 opioid-related deaths in Chicago in 2022.

###