LA and Spanish-Speaking Consulates Work Together To Combat Opioid Crisis (And Other Headlines)

It’s no surprise there’s an opioid crisis in Los Angeles. In just about five years, accidental fentanyl overdose deaths in L.A. County increased by nearly 1,300% — and it's happening across all demographic groups.

Fighting opioid crisis at consulates

Fentanyl-related deaths among Latinos has skyrocketed by 721% in seven years, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health. Part of the problem is lack of education about the harms of the drug and its prevalence. Also, there’s little awareness, especially among immigrant communities, about life-saving solutions to overdoses like Narcan, also known as naloxone.

High schools and colleges here now have Narcan available to students. And soon Angelenos will be able to buy Narcan at stores like CVS and Ralphs without a prescription. L.A. County health officials want to capitalize on this momentum with Narcan accessibility and have forged a new partnership with Spanish-speaking consulates to spread awareness about the risks of fentanyl and the benefits of Narcan.

My colleagues Jackie Fortiér and Gillian Morán Pérez wrote about this new county public health program that sends community health workers to consulates to distribute Narcan, and train people how to use it to save someone who may be dying of an opioid overdose.

Community health worker Martha Hernandez told LAist that people are often surprised by what she tells them.

“I use myself as an example,” she says. “A lot of us go to our hometown, Tijuana is the closest one, and we go and get medication, especially pain killers. [I tell them] ‘a lot of them have fentanyl in the medications’ and you’ll see their wide open eyes, like ‘woah, that is true.’”

Read more about this initiative — and why it is needed — in my colleagues’ story.

Stay safe and cool, L.A. There’s more news below — just keep reading.

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• Feeling bored? Well, if you ever wanted to cosplay as Alice in Wonderland, you can finally get your chance at the Shakespeare Club of Pasadena these next couple of weeks. If you’re into food history, attend the TASTE OF: LA Pop-Up Museum in downtown L.A. this Thursday through the weekend.  Or be amazed by the Drag Show exhibition at Cal State Long Beach on Thursday night. Check out these events and so much more on this week’s list of best things to do. 

Wait! One more thing ....

How to get around L.A. without a car

The spokes of a bicycle.

(

Joel Saget

/

AFP via Getty Images

)

We all know Los Angeles is a car-centric city but, if you haven’t noticed, a lot more people are moving around the city on two wheels.

How To LA producer Evan Jacoby is one of those guys who uses his bicycle a lot, not only for recreation but also to get to work. He’s been living without a car for a couple of years now.

So how does he actually do it?

Metro helps. He puts on a helmet, rides his bike, all to feel the exhilarating, fresh wind hit his face. Then he usually hops on a train to get to work. In this episode of How to LA he talks about why he gave up his car and shows us exactly how he makes the commute to work — rain or shine. You’ll also learn he’s not alone. A lot of folks are opting to go car free in the car capital of the world.

Listen to all of the How to LA episodes here.