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Council sends Broadway-Fillmore behavioral health matter to Police Oversight committee after county outlines harm-reduction work
Summary
Council Member Nowakowski pressed for coordinated response to open drug use and mental-health crises in Broadway-Fillmore; Erie County health staff reported large-scale outreach and distribution of naloxone and testing supplies. The committee voted to send the issue to the Police Oversight Committee for further work.
Council Member Nowakowski told the Committee on Community Development on July 29 that Broadway-Fillmore and adjacent neighborhoods are experiencing a severe behavioral health and public-safety problem and urged coordinated action across city, county and state agencies.
"I have extreme vagrancy and mental health concerns and drug use," Council Member Nowakowski said. "I do not know who the proper person to call is when I see 7 people injecting drugs in them. Who do I call? What is the appropriate?" He criticized what he called a "laissez faire" response to people he described as visibly deteriorated and said residents deserve clearer, faster help.
Jason Hil…
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