WEEK OF MARCH 7, 2024
VOLUME 135 | ISSUE 31
Arapahoe County puts overdose prevention on wheels
$2
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
As snow coated the streets on a chilly Tuesday morning, a new RV with the words “Prevention Point” on its side made its first spin around Arapahoe County. The vehicle is the county’s newest harm reduction strategy, aimed at bringing tools and resources for safer substance use to people across the county. Amid gusts of snow, the county’s director of public health was joined by Colorado’s attorney general and others who all said that the vehicle — and the teams that will be inside it — could save lives. Opioid overdoses led to 1,160 deaths in the state in 2022, the most recent numbers available, from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The new mobile unit will provide overdose prevention resources, infectious disease testing, tools for reducing exposure to infectious diseases and sexual health resources. “We know there are gaps in who we are able to serve and a greater need to serve more in our community,” said county public health director Jennifer Ludwig at the unit’s unveiling event on Feb. 27. “When Prevention Point mobile unit rolls off today and out into the streets, it
BEAVER CAUSES STIR P6 IN LITTLETON
NIKKI HALEY’S CENTENNIAL VISIT P12
BEST OF THE BEST County officials, staff and Board of Health members cheer at the unveiling of the PHOTO BY NINA JOSS county’s new mobile harm reduction unit on a snowy day.
will fill those gaps and support people who need our services but face barriers to accessing them in traditional settings.” Arapahoe County used about $345,000 of opioid settlement funds from the Colorado Opioid Abatement Council to fund the new unit,
VOICES: 14 | LIFE: 16 | CALENDAR: 19
VOTE NOW – APRIL 15
Ludwig said. The county’s harm reduction team already provides services and resources at fixed locations and through street outreach. But with the new vehicle, the team now has SEE OVERDOSE, P10
LITTLETONINDEPENDENT.NET • A PUBLICATION OF COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
ON THICK ICE
For winter anglers, ice fishing is cool P16