Issue Position: Addressing the Opioid Crisis

Issue Position

Our neighbors throughout the 177th district deal every day with the disruption and dangers wrought by the opioid crisis. The area of the district around Lehigh Avenue in particular is facing a daily dilemma created by a policy failure from the City of Philadelphia's "clean up' of the heroin camps on the Conrail railroad bed in mid-2017. The action failed because it did not provide a full wrap around solution to the problem. It pushed the people suffering from heroin and opioid addiction from the railroad into the streets of Fishtown, Olde Richmond and Port Richmond.

If we learned anything from the Conrail scenario, it's that pushing those who live in heroin camps out onto the streets without a long-term plan to reintegrate them into society results in more extensive problems for the surrounding neighborhoods. Joe pledges to not make this mistake, and will work with local civic groups, the Mayor's office and city council, and recovery nonprofits to create a plan instead of forcing those suffering from heroin addiction into our neighborhoods.

Joe believes that a comprehensive solution is required: one that takes into account the law enforcement and public health challenges of the problem, and focuses on safety for everyone. Joe does not support establishing safe injection sites, but rather believes we need to put energy into common sense actions with proven track records of making the entire community safer.

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