Letter & Call to Action to the Community

Dear Lake County, Illinois Stakeholders and Community Members,

Overdose deaths in Lake County have skyrocketed to a 34% increase from 2019 to 2020, which is even more shocking when compared to the 3% increase seen in the previous year*. This data is too deadly to be ignored. The surge in overdose is undoubtedly due in part to the social isolation related to the pandemic, as well as an ever-changing drug market, but that does not mean we are powerless to intervene.

This is a critical time, and it is imperative that Lake County mobilize community-based programs to help stem the tide of increased overdose. Harm reduction, street outreach, and naloxone distribution programs are immediately available interventions that can and do make a difference, both in the quality of life and mortality reduction rates for participants.

From the start of July to the start of September, Live4Lali’s mobile outreach bordering North Chicago and Waukegan provided overdose reversal education and distributed 684 doses of the lifesaving, opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, alongside 2,370 fentanyl test strips to help prevent an overdose before it begins. That’s over 3,000 distributed opportunities to keep someone alive, in a mere two months of street-based harm reduction services operating out of one single location.

Specific action recommendations:

• Strategically focused and equitable naloxone distribution to communities with the highest rates of overdose, including linkage to harm reduction services and treatment services as appropriate.
• Partnerships within the county between treatment professionals, addictionologists, housing, mental health professionals and harm reduction programs that will assist in providing a pathway into treatment and stability when the person is ready.

Live4Lali is requesting your support in endorsing our return to the community to provide street-based harm reduction outreach to the towns hit hardest by overdoses in Lake County. Effective, life-saving interventions exist and we will do all we can to help expand these opportunities, starting with the most affected communities. Services offered by the Live4Lali mobile harm reduction program include treatment navigation and transportation, naloxone and fentanyl test strip training and distribution, safe using supplies to prevent the spread of blood born pathogens, personal care items including hand sanitizer and masks, food and beverages, and most importantly — connection to someone who is willing to meet them where they are at.

Together, we can mitigate this devastating increase in overdoses with evidence-based practices delivered kindly, holistically and compassionately. Please sign on and express your support of our initiative here.

 

In community,

 

 

 

Laura Fry

Executive Director

(844)584-5254 ext.803

[email protected]

*data courtesy of Lake County Coroner’s Office

Listen to Stories from Members of the Lake County Community

Watch members of the community discuss harm reduction and what Live4Lali, and other programs like it, have meant for them.

Support the Initiative

Sign on to endorse our initiative, either as an organization or an individual, here.

Learn More From Trusted Partners

Quick 101 facts sheet on SSPs(syringe service programs) from the CDC

Indiana State SSP FAQs

Safer Drug Use — methods from the National Harm Reduction Coalition

Respect to Connect: Undoing Stigma — National Harm Reduction Coalition

 

See Who Already Signed On

• 62nd District State Representative – Sam Yingling
• Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center – Melissa Hernandez
• AIDS Foundation Chicago – Timothy Jackson
• Avon Township Democrats – Chris Law
• Barrington Behavioral Health & Wellness – Denise Casey
• Black Lives Matter Lake County – Clyde McLemore
• Center for Housing & Health – Carolyn Bloom
• Choose to B – Stefanie Morris
• Ehlert Family Foundation – Laurel S. Turner
• Hope for Healing – Roger Stefani
• Illinois Harm Reduction & Recovery Coalition – Chelsea Laliberté Barnes
• Inspiration Outreach Foundation – Stacy Harding
• Kenneth Young Center – Grace Hong Duffin
• Lake County Health Department – Mark A. Pfister
• Lake County Suicide Prevention Task Force – Nicholas Greco
• Live4Lali – Jody Daitchman
• Mikey’s Message – Geri Santini
• ModernMed – Kenji Oyasu MD
• New Hope Christian Community – Gary Ricci
• NICASA Behavioral Health Services – Bruce Johnson
• PADS Lake County – Meghan Powell-Filler
• Solly’s Way Foundation – Anthony DeLaurentis
• SWOP Behind Bars – Alex Andrews
• The Jordan Michael Filler Foundation – Julie Filler
• The Porchlight Collective SAP – Jen Nagel
• Thresholds – Heather ODonnell
• Warp Corps – Heather Nelson
• Waukegan Police Department  – Wayne Walles
• West Side Heroin/Opiod Task Force Prevention Partnership, Inc. – Lee Rusch
• Aimee Alker
• Allyson Turner
• Amy Alderson
• Anna Ippolito-Gascoyne
• Anneliese Thurston
• Arvurne Whitfield
• Barb Weber
• Bill Gentes
• B. Keith Taylor
• Bunny Ehlert
• Catie Harding
• Christian Law
• Christine Wheat
• Cindy Savvas
• Cindy Stewart
• Claire Stroer
• Clarence Harris
• Clayton Mutert
• Crystal Schultz
• Danette Koelling
• David Torres
• Debbie Tranter
• Debbie Wein
• Diane Geiser
• Donna Hynek
• Doug Harding
• Eric Pfeiffer
• Gigi Cairo
• Holly Eberle
• Jenn Balleto
• Jenna Collingridge
• Jennifer Banek
• Jennifer Elias
• Jennifer Hammond LCSW, CADC, CODP I, GCE
• Jordan Diller
• Kadima Palles
• Kathy Roeser
• Karen Hudec
• Kelley Michalak
• Kimberly Corning
• Lane Samata
• Laurie E Guccione
• Leslie Walleck
• Lily Gleicher
• Lisa Barth
• Lisa Hannay
• Lisa Henderson
• Lucas Diller
• Lynne Carter
• Mary Lawrence
• Mary Mrowiec
• Michael Evans
• Michelle Hines
• Michelle Pratt
• Natalie DeLaurentis
• Pat Samata
• Rachel Blumenthal
• Rebecca Novak
• Rianna DeLaurentis
• Richard LaPiana
• Rickey Schwartz
• Rob Colbert
• Rodney Turner
• Sharon Gallagher
• Stephanie Gorman
• Steve Fabbri
• Dr. Stephen Holtsford
• Tate Samata
• Teresa Schlosser
• Thomas Turner
• William King