Wilmington, North Carolina is at the top of an unfortunate list. One study published last year, based on analysis of numbers from the Centers for Disease Control, shows more than 11.5% of the population abuses opioids. Opioid abusers tend to live in the rural south – according to the Castlight report.
Earlier this week, Wilmington’s Police Chief, Ralph Evangelous, announced the lowest crime statistics in nearly a quarter of a century, as reported by the StarNews. The areas to work on, he says: gangs and the opioid epidemic.
It’s been called an epidemic, a public health crisis, and one statistic puts the cost – just from absenteeism and illness in the workplace from these drugs at about $10 billion.
It’s numbers that like that encouraged Robert Childs, now the Executive Director of the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition to open an office in Wilmington.
Guests:
Robert Childs, Executive Director, NC Harm Reduction Coalition
Mike Page, Outreach Worker, NC Harm Reduction Coalition
To reach Mike Page directly, call 910.795.7984.
Every Friday between 1 and 5 PM, NC Harm Reduction Coalition sets up a fixed site for support services and supplies at the intersection of Market and Barclay in Wilmington.
Find syringe exchange sites in Wilmington, Leland, and Brunswick County here:
http://www.nchrc.org/syringe-exchange/legal-syringe-exchange-sites/
Further resources:
