Democratic candidate for New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer says he wants to make battling the county and state’s heroin epidemic a priority.
On Tuesday, Meyer released an 8-page plan to tackle the issue through the use of SLEAF funds, administration of naloxone, advancement of treatment and recovery programs and more.
He sat down with Delaware Public Media’s Megan Pauly this week to discuss his proposals.
Meyer stressed the importance of taking immediate action - with heroin overdose fatalities tripling between 2009 and 2014.
He says he’s seen the need for urgency firsthand.
"We’ve had actually someone in my campaign who has gone into treatment during the course of the campaign. It’s stunning the extent to which every corner of this county is being affected. And I want to make sure we treat it like an emergency," he said. "If there are liability concerns or anything: those are things to be taken seriously, but this is an emergency and we need to treat it like an emergency."
Meyer turned to Erin Goldner with Hope Street DE to help draft his plan. Goldner’s group works to inform families of the tools they need to help themselves – and their loved ones - seek long-term recovery.
"You know, new mom coming into recovery. She’s one week sober…she doesn’t have insurance, she’s got a brand new baby..this is a community issue," Goldner said. "This mom needs help getting to meetings, this mom needs help with her child, this mom needs to get a job – and that’s a whole lot for somebody who’s just coming in to be told, well, you’ve gotta go over here that’s 15 miles over here to go to the state service center, and you have to go 15 miles over here for a drug screening every other day, and you’ve gotta o over mere – mom doesn’t have a car either."
Goldner sees recovery as a community issue. She says Hope Street tries to fill in the gaps of service with volunteers who she says have been there, and know what it feels like to ask for help. Hope Street also advocates for government and others to offer more assistance and services.
Meyer faces incumbent Tom Gordon in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary for New Castle County Executive.