Hamilton County Heroin Coalition

Local health officials are reporting a spike in the number of drug overdoses. Hamilton County Public Health reports 17 people arrived at hospital emergency rooms, and emergency responders received 21 calls for help from Tuesday morning to Wednesday night.

The Hamilton County Justice Center has several programs designed to help inmates with different issues. Several veterans are kept together because they can identify with each other's needs. Inmates who are about to be released are housed together as they receive counseling designed to prepare them to re-enter the world at large. The Justice Center also has a section devoted to inmates with addiction issues. That program is going to be expanded.

A quick response team will soon be operating across Hamilton County. The Heroin Coalition's Tom Fallon says the teams will contact people who've overdosed and try to get them into treatment.

Hamilton County will host a summit next month on the heroin crisis. Commissioner Denise Driehaus says it will highlight what the heroin coalition has been doing and solicit ideas for dealing with the epidemic.

The maker of Narcan is making a research grant to Hamilton County that will provide nearly $2 million worth of the overdose antidote to combat the local heroin crisis.

Just like the drug problem, the Hamilton County Heroin Coalition continues to grow.

The group welcomed two more representatives to its regular meeting Friday, The Health Collaborative, representing hospitals, and the Amos Project, representing the faith community.

Two people have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Cincinnati on charges to distribute heroin laced with a drug used as an animal tranquilizer. Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman announced the charges Wednesday afternoon against 31-year-old Phillip Watkins and 28-year-old Jeanetta Crawford.

Despite a spike in heroin overdoses in Hamilton County this week, local supply of an antidote is not in jeopardy. First responders still have access to naloxone, according to Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black. The Cincinnati Fire Department indicated it may need an additional $100,000 to purchase more naloxone. Black says that's not a problem for the budget.

The Hamilton County Heroin Coalition Task Force is launching a new initiative to deal with the problem in the region. 

Tom Synan, Newtown's Chief of Police and director of the task force, says it's called Not In My Neighborhood and focuses on community support.

Hamilton County's Heroin Task Force has released a strategic plan to address the drug epidemic in the region. 

Commission President Greg Hartmann says coalition members will work on several fronts including interdiction, treatment, and prevention.