HOW WE FIGHT THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC HEAD-ON
Lexington has been engaged in a fight with an opioid and illicit drug epidemic that has impacted every aspect of our city. While we’ve added more police officers on the street, violent crime has increased and the costs of addiction, crime, treatment and incarceration have gone up as well. This issue shows no bias for economic, social or racial identity. As your mayor, I will focus on three key components to meet this challenge head on.
1. I intend to ensure law enforcement has every tool necessary to go after the dealers, traffickers, violent offenders and anyone else who has helped perpetuate this plague. This includes strengthening penalties for those with weapons violations and anyone preying on our youth. But we must recognize that we cannot put the burden on our law enforcement to address this alone.
2. We have to be more invested in treating addiction by supporting programs in community organizations, leveraging our healthcare and insurance providers, building social support systems, and boosting drug court, job reentry programs and rehabilitation centers that responsibly bring our fellow citizens back into productive society. I will lead efforts to unite leaders across all of these areas to build innovative and evidence- based solutions that work for our community and continue to build on the experiences and incredible work currently being done by those on the front lines.
3. The many layers required to fight this problem cannot succeed, though, if we do not work just as hard at prevention. Communities and neighborhoods will be encouraged to hold open and honest conversations about how this epidemic has impacted lives. I will work to make sure every effort is made to empower our neighborhoods to become centers of interaction once again and to remove the barriers of isolation that allow addiction to grow.
This will be the greatest challenge of all, but I believe the tragedy of the opioid epidemic and the violence that has come with it can serve as the wakeup call we have long needed to rebuild our communities and the support they provide us all.
HOW WE FIGHT THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC HEAD-ON
Lexington has been engaged in a fight with an opioid and illicit drug epidemic that has impacted every aspect of our city. While we’ve added more police officers on the street, violent crime has increased and the costs of addiction, crime, treatment and incarceration have gone up as well. This issue shows no bias for economic, social or racial identity. As your mayor, I will focus on three key components to meet this challenge head on.
1. I intend to ensure law enforcement has every tool necessary to go after the dealers, traffickers, violent offenders and anyone else who has helped perpetuate this plague. This includes strengthening penalties for those with weapons violations and anyone preying on our youth. But we must recognize that we cannot put the burden on our law enforcement to address this alone.
2. We have to be more invested in treating addiction by supporting programs in community organizations, leveraging our healthcare and insurance providers, building social support systems, and boosting drug court, job reentry programs and rehabilitation centers that responsibly bring our fellow citizens back into productive society. I will lead efforts to unite leaders across all of these areas to build innovative and evidence- based solutions that work for our community and continue to build on the experiences and incredible work currently being done by those on the front lines.
3. The many layers required to fight this problem cannot succeed, though, if we do not work just as hard at prevention. Communities and neighborhoods will be encouraged to hold open and honest conversations about how this epidemic has impacted lives. I will work to make sure every effort is made to empower our neighborhoods to become centers of interaction once again and to remove the barriers of isolation that allow addiction to grow.
This will be the greatest challenge of all, but I believe the tragedy of the opioid epidemic and the violence that has come with it can serve as the wakeup call we have long needed to rebuild our communities and the support they provide us all.
HOW WE FIGHT THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC HEAD-ON
Lexington has been engaged in a fight with an opioid and illicit drug epidemic that has impacted every aspect of our city. While we’ve added more police officers on the street, violent crime has increased and the costs of addiction, crime, treatment and incarceration have gone up as well. This issue shows no bias for economic, social or racial identity. As your mayor, I will focus on three key components to meet this challenge head on.
1. I intend to ensure law enforcement has every tool necessary to go after the dealers, traffickers, violent offenders and anyone else who has helped perpetuate this plague. This includes strengthening penalties for those with weapons violations and anyone preying on our youth. But we must recognize that we cannot put the burden on our law enforcement to address this alone.
2. We have to be more invested in treating addiction by supporting programs in community organizations, leveraging our healthcare and insurance providers, building social support systems, and boosting drug court, job reentry programs and rehabilitation centers that responsibly bring our fellow citizens back into productive society. I will lead efforts to unite leaders across all of these areas to build innovative and evidence- based solutions that work for our community and continue to build on the experiences and incredible work currently being done by those on the front lines.
3. The many layers required to fight this problem cannot succeed, though, if we do not work just as hard at prevention. Communities and neighborhoods will be encouraged to hold open and honest conversations about how this epidemic has impacted lives. I will work to make sure every effort is made to empower our neighborhoods to become centers of interaction once again and to remove the barriers of isolation that allow addiction to grow.
This will be the greatest challenge of all, but I believe the tragedy of the opioid epidemic and the violence that has come with it can serve as the wakeup call we have long needed to rebuild our communities and the support they provide us all.