Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Austin and Travis County say $2 million federal investment helped cut overdose deaths
Summary
City and county officials reported that a roughly $2 million federal earmark funded harm-reduction programs, naloxone distribution and training that officials say coincided with declines in opioid and fentanyl-related deaths in Travis County.
Austin and Travis County officials on Friday described how about $2,000,000 in federal funding helped expand harm-reduction programs, train first responders and distribute naloxone, and said the investments coincided with declines in local overdose deaths.
Mayor Kirk Watson opened the announcement by crediting the federal earmark — secured with help from Congressman Lloyd Doggett — for funding community programs, peer support, naloxone training and media campaigns. "The city of Austin and Travis County are no longer reacting to a crisis. We are building a system that prevents it," he said.
Austin Public Health medical director Dr. Desmar Walks said the city has created an online opioid resource dashboard (austintexas.gov/opioids) and published an opioid overdose surveillance report to make data and recovery resources more accessible. "This epidemic has found its way into all parts of our community," Walks said, and urged simple steps such as never…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
