Ald. Michael Murphy
Press Release

Alderman Murphy secures funding for opioid addiction awareness

The number of deaths related to opioid overdoses keeps climbing.

By - Nov 30th, 2017 02:49 pm

Pills by Tom Varco (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Pills by Tom Varco (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Alderman Michael J. Murphy’s budget amendment passed the Common Council on November 10, securing $50,000 for an opioid addiction awareness campaign to address the public health crisis in the community.

Research has shown there are three ways to address the opioid addiction crisis: law enforcement, treatment, and prevention. Ald. Murphy’s recent budget amendment will focus on addiction prevention. In the coming year, he will also work alongside community partners to leverage more funding for a larger media campaign to create greater awareness around the issue.

The number of deaths related to opioid overdoses keeps climbing. In Milwaukee County for 2017, more people have died from opioid overdoses than homicides and fatal car accidents combined. It is also important to recognize the staggering and lifesaving work by the Milwaukee Fire Department, as they have responded to 2,909 overdoses to provide lifesaving Narcan. Milwaukee residents comprised 2,549 of the lives saved.

Ald. Murphy has been outspoken and active in addressing opioid addiction and overdose deaths. As the former Common Council President, he authored a detailed report in ‘888 Bodies and Counting,’ in 2015 to sound the alarm regarding the scope and impact of this crisis. In January 2017, Alderman Murphy created the Milwaukee City-County Heroin, Opioid, and Cocaine Task Force to bring together city county, and non-profit resources to address the deadly public health crisis plaguing the region.

As the opioid addiction media awareness campaign moves forward, more information will become available. The alderman looks forward to working with community partners to address the issue.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

Mentioned in This Press Release

Recent Press Releases by Ald. Michael Murphy

Statement on the death of Prince McCree

Alderman Michael J. Murphy October 26, 2023

A reminder to be safe and respectful during 4th of July celebrations

Statement of Alderman Michael J. Murphy July 3, 2023

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us