Upper Darby police will help addicts find treatment
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Mike Chitwood says drug users who come to the station seeking help will be passed on to substance abuse specialists. (Upper Darby Police Department)
Police in Upper Darby, a community hard-hit by the heroin scourge, are making their headquarters into safe haven and treatment referral source for drug addicts.
Drug users who come to the station seeking help will be passed on to substance abuse specialists, said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Mike Chitwood.
And if those seeking treatment lack health insurance, Chitwood said, the county will provide funds.The effort appears to be the first of its kind in the state.
In February, a man overdosed on heroin on a transit bus and was revived by Upper Darby officers carrying a lifesaving drug.
Chitwood said Upper Darby logged 200 overdoses last year.
Upper Darby’s program mirrors others in parts of Ohio and Massachusetts, where police in some communities are changing tactics and redefining their roles in the battle against heroin.
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