Drug abuse is a growing epidemic in Western New York and it’s a bigger problem for the Town of West Seneca, New York.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz released two maps on Thursday. The maps highlight the overdosing among zip codes in Erie County. West Seneca(Zip code 14224) was among several suburban parts of the county that has a large number of overdoses.West Seneca Councilman, Eugene Hart doesn’t find much hope against heroin.
“In the past three weeks I’ve experienced three deaths were I know the individuals that passed away one of them was 28 and two were 20,” Hart said.
At the current rate 11 people per week have died from overdoses in Erie County. Health leaders are expecting drug abuse to kill at least 500 Erie County Residents by the end of this year.
The Town of West Seneca is addressing this massive problem. Leaders plan to hold a forum called “Addiction in Our Zip Code, Save the Michaels of The World & The Town of West Seneca.” This event is set for Wednesday, April 20, 2016 from 6:30pm-8:30pm at West Seneca Senior Center.
This is a free, educational presentation and forum focused on the WNY prescription opioid and heroin epidemic. A panel of experts and public officials will discuss the drug overdose epidemic and talk about possible solutions.
