Several law enforcement agencies are partnering with community groups in Middletown for a two-day event dedicated to reducing drug use and drug-related deaths in the area.
Operation Bridge combines increased law enforcement efforts to seize illegal drugs and arrest those responsible for supplying them, with outreach efforts to connect those struggling with addiction with resources.
On the first day, officials said they arrested nine people and seized nearly 80 grams of fentanyl. The DEA said just two milligrams can be lethal.
“While that’s going on, we have folks in a different location and they’re focused on people that suffer from substance use disorder,” said Dick Meadows with the Ohio Department of Public Safety. “They’re out there providing resources and trying to get them into treatment.”
That’s what was happening at Damon Park both Wednesday and Thursday.
“The best way to do that is have all of the services at one event,” said Victoria Hensley with The Hope Line.
For her, this work is personal because she lost her mom, sister and brother to overdoses.