Illinois Rep. La Shawn Ford is ramping up the fight against the opioid crisis by pushing to create overdose prevention sites and declaring a new Harm Reduction Solidarity Week.
Ford, whose district includes Austin, Oak Park and Forest Park, has long been a drug-treatment advocate. In late 2022, for example, he proposed House Bill 0002, which proposes the opening of pilot overdose prevention sites in Illinois.
Earlier this year, Ford filed House Resolution 665, which, when it passed, declared April 14 through April 20 Illinois’ first Harm Reduction Solidarity Week.
At a news conference in Springfield April 17, Ford was joined by the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Sameer Vohra, and the Illinois Harm Reduction and Recovery Coalition, along with other advocates, to spotlight the crisis and efforts to stop it and to save lives.
“We were educating the Springfield members, and all those that listen, about how important it is to have what you call harm reduction tools in our community,” Ford said.
The numbers tell the stark truth about the crisis.
In 2022, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office reported 2,000 deaths from opioid overdose, more than 1,800 of which were fentanyl-related. And 56% of those deaths were Black people, although African Americans made up less than a quarter of the county population that year, according to Illinois census estimations.
“Not only are we fighting the heroin epidemic, there’s a new, more potent, pure fentanyl that’s killing people with overdoses,” Ford said.
A 2022 Chicago Sun-Times report showed that, the year before, deaths from overdoses were concentrated on the West Side, with most occurring in West Garfield Park, South Austin and East Garfield Park. The suburbs were not immune. Seventeen deaths were reported in Oak Park, and 25 in Cicero.
As for ambulance calls for overdoses, the report showed they were concentrated on the West Side, too: 608 calls in Austin, 458 in West Garfield Park and 367 in Humboldt, records show. Other neighborhoods, like Pullman, experienced six overdose calls.
According to Ford, harm reduction efforts in Chicago have included dispersing clean needles to help stop the spread of hepatitis and HIV, plus Narcan to assist someone experiencing an overdose. There are also programs that connect those who use drugs to medical-assisted recovery, where they can meet with behavioral health counselors and have access to prescription drugs that help curb cravings.
But Ford and other Illinois politicians are hoping for more. Their most recent effort is to create overdose prevention sites in Illinois with House Bill 0002, which Ford hopes passes before the end of May.
Overdose prevention sites are places where those who use drugs can go for supervised consumption and access to behavioral health experts.
New York City opened the first of these overdose prevention sites in the country at the end of 2021. The first year that two sites were open, they experienced 48,533 visits and only intervened 636 times to prevent overdoses. No overdoses occurred at either site. These sites connected about 75% of visitors to other harm reduction and medical services.
“The only people that would really go to an overdose prevention site are people who are looking for help,” Ford said. “And there’s no place for people to go like that in Illinois where they could be accepted for who they are and move towards recovery when they’re ready.”
The idea, however, could be a tough sell. Critics say such sites promote drug use and perpetuate crime.
Beyond creating overdose prevention sites in Illinois, politicians and organizers aim to end the stigma against those who use drugs.
“As we confront this challenge, we recognize a concerning pattern where progress is hindered by stigma towards people who use drugs,” said Aces Lira, AIDS Foundation Chicago’s policy and advocacy manager, in a statement. “We stand united with harm reduction advocates statewide, who courageously share their personal stories with legislators.”
“We have to educate people on how to help their families when they are struggling with a substance user. We have to help law enforcement understand the difference between a criminal and a person that’s living with a substance use disorder,” Ford said. “We’ve got to end the stigma and having people believe that people who are struggling with a substance use disorder are bad people.”
