Opioid related overdoses continue to rise in Milwaukee County. The county’s medical examiner reports that 80% of confirmed drug deaths this year involved fentanyl, with the county on track for 700+ drug related deaths this year.
Now, local law enforcement agencies like the Oak Creek Fire Department are working to slow down those numbers by handing out Narcan Hope Kits. Oak Creek Fire Lieutenant Aaron Krukowski began the effort to create these kits in conjunction with the city's Health Department, community medical services, and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
“We want to give people who suffer from substance use disorder hope and we want them to realize we have not lost hope in them,” said Krukowski. “We want them to get to a path of recovery.”