LaredoBuzz.Com

Courtesy Isabel Sosa,

LAREDO, TX— The City of Laredo Mayor Dr. Victor Treviño is currently participating in New York’s Mayoral Summit on Fentanyl. Mayor Dr. Treviño was invited by the Mayor of the City of New York, Eric Adams, to attend the two-day event with the purpose of discussing the fentanyl crisis affecting most cities, including working sessions where the participants would have the opportunity to envision solutions to this public health emergency.

During the first day of the summit, Mayor Dr. Treviño was a presenter at one of the working sessions on the subject of treatment strategies. Mayor’s topic was “Binational Collaboration and Treatment Strategies in Medically Underserved Communities”, where he shared details of the data collected and the efforts currently placed in the local community by the collaboration and conjunction of various departments. Among the actions that the City of Laredo has in place, is the ROOTS Recovery Center, which will be offering services to individuals of 18 to 70 years of age in a 24-bed facility which is projected to open soon.

Also, Mayor Dr. Treviño mentioned the contribution of the Laredo Fire Department and its Opioid Response Team, which started in 2022 and consists of a group of 30 LFD paramedics; among the group’s contributions, there is a team assigned to do post-911 visits to any suspected overdose 911 call. They also have scheduled visits to Laredo High Schools in an effort to educate the youth on the risks of fentanyl and have outreach visits to non-profit organizations to supply individuals with Narcan and other items in a kit so they can help save lives.

Another main strategy is the partnership created with the various agencies whose missions coincide in alleviating a large number of overdoses.

“As we are seeing deaths related to overdoses reach historic proportions in Laredo, Fentanyl has created a public health crisis in every community across the United States. From speaking to families in the hospitals devastated by these overdoses, some of the biggest challenges will be encouraging parents to talk to their children about fentanyl-contaminated drugs being marketed to them. Tackling this problem is going to take a binational and society-wide approach,” said Mayor Dr. Victor Treviño.

During the second day of the summit, Mayor Dr. Treviño continues to collaborate and looks forward to the creation of the intercity working group that will prioritize the gathering of tools that will impact the fight against fentanyl and the larger opioid crisis in the country.