County passes new effort with city of San Diego to address opioid crisis
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A new plan was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that brings the county and city of San Diego together to better confront the opioid crisis in the region.
Supervisor Joel Anderson introduced the proposed partnership during the regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting — something he says would help to prevent opioid overdoses.
Over the last several years, opioid and fentanyl related overdoses have killed an alarming number of San Diego County residents. According to the Medical Examiner’s Office, the number of accidental opioid overdose deaths have increased by more than 2,300 percent.
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The collaborative initiative would allow the county and city to work together to utilize funds from settlements tied to lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, who health advocates say have contributed to the problem.
This money would go towards supporting countywide multimedia public messaging and awareness efforts.
“Thousands of families are missing someone at that kitchen table every night, because of the effects of fentanyl poisoning,” San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert said during a press conference on Tuesday ahead of the discussion on the proposal.
“We needed to work together both city and county to address what is truly a public health crisis,” she continued.
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At Tuesday’s press conference, FOX 5 heard from the mother of Erik Gonzales, a local 21-year-old who died in 2020 from fentanyl poisoning. Gonzles had been in treatment for drug abuse a week prior to his death.
“Erik actually did not ask for fentanyl. He did not knowingly use fentanyl,” Kerrie Gonzales said. “He had been in treatment for 86 days … I’m not telling you this because I want to make my son out to be an angel, because his choices were not the best choices — but that does not mean when you make a bad choice that should mean death.”
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