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2,100 deaths in 10 years: how fentanyl is devastating Los Angeles’ unhoused community
(www.theguardian.com)
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Since fentanyl began devastating unhoused communities, Hams says, he has rescued dozens of people suffering overdoses by quickly deploying Narcan, the nasal spray that can reverse the effects of opioids and restore someone’s breathing.
As fentanyl overdoses escalate, under-resourced street medics, harm reduction teams, volunteers and unhoused people like Hams have been fighting to stem the tide of preventable deaths.
The city’s sweeps and shutdowns of his encampment community, on an industrial road called Aetna Street, have scattered people to more hidden corners and motel where the risk of overdosing alone can be greater, he said.
LA city council member Eunisses Hernandez last year secured funding for a street medicine team from the University of Southern California to operate in her district, which includes MacArthur Park.
While Feldman examined Farias’s worsening toothache, she explained how she stays away from hospitals and traditional medical facilities as much as possible given past experiences of feeling ostracized and disrespected due to her housing status: “I have PTSD from the emergency room so I avoid it, and I get more sick,” she said.
Political concerns have repeatedly blocked another harm reduction strategy that some providers and county officials say would save lives: safe consumption sites, where people can use drugs under supervision.
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