D5 Councilmember Files Request Request to Tackle the Opioid Crisis
Published on June 29, 2023
District 5 Councilmember Files Council Consideration Request to Tackle the Opioid Crisis in San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO (June 29, 2023) — Today, District 5 City Councilwoman Teri Castillo filed a Council Consideration Request (CCR) which seeks to reduce addiction, overdoses, deaths, and other harms related to opioid use. The policy request is being introduced during a time when San Antonio and Bexar County are reeling from opioid addiction and overdose deaths. In 2021, officials reported 246 overdose deaths in Bexar County, and the death rate for opioids is 33% higher in Bexar County than the state average.
The policy request would:
- Establish a budget plan with harm reduction strategies for the expenditure of funds related to the opioid settlement payments.
- Explore expanding availability, training, and use of Naxalone (Narcan) for community-based non-profits and workers in all public-facing COSA departments as well as COSA owned, managed, and/or leased buildings.
- Develop and fund a COSA-sponsored program for pregnant people and new mothers experiencing opioid addiction.
“While the opioid crisis continues to cut lives short in communities all throughout San Antonio, we cannot ignore that the pharmaceutical industry preyed on people from all backgrounds and flooded our community with addiction in the name of profit,” the Councilwoman said. “Now, San Antonio must move forward with harm reduction strategies that save lives.”
Councilwoman Castillo’s policy request is targeted at developing a detailed plan which ensures settlement funds are used to consistently maximize and even expand effective programs, like the San Antonio Fire Department’s Mobile Integrated Healthcare program, which works to reduce addiction and deaths.
Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) occurs when a newborn is exposed to addictive opiate drugs while in the mother’s womb. Bexar County accounts for a third of Texas’ Medicaid patients who deliver babies born with NAS and has ranked first in NAS cases among Medicaid births since 2009. If successful, the CCR would also create new City of San Antonio resources for expecting mothers experiencing opioid addiction through various City channels like Human Services, Metro Health, and Neighborhood & Housing Services. The City could connect more mothers to resources that will not only improve the quality of life for their infant, but potentially save their life as well.
Districts 3, 4, 6, and 8 signed in support of Councilwoman Castillo’s policy request titled, “Opioid-Related Overdoses and Access to Narcan.” The request will likely be taken up by the Governance Committee who will provide further direction at a future meeting once City Council resumes their regularly scheduled activities in August.