Mahoning County Quick Response Team now up and running

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A team that will help overdose victims quickly get into addiction treatment is up and running, the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and Mental Health and Recovery Board announced Friday.

The quick-response team is funded by an Ohio Attorney General’s Office grant.

According to a news release, a letter has been sent to all county police chiefs asking them to inform the Mahoning County Quick Response Team of any overdoses to which they respond.

“I am very excited to get this program up and running,” said Sheriff Jerry Greene. “Getting people the help they need to defeat the current epidemic our community is in will help us all in the long run.”

“We believe programs like that are what has allowed Mahoning County to go from 19th in 2015 to 26th in 2016 in the number of unintentional drug-overdose deaths per 100,000 population, according to the Ohio Department of Health,” said Duane Piccirilli, executive directory of the mental health and recovery board.