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Jay Bradley/LehighValleyNews.comDespite not being approved for human consumption, veterinary tranquilizers are infiltrating the illicit drug supply in Pennsylvania. Harm reduction specialists and health care professionals say these overdoses can't be approached solely with naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug. -
Makenzie Christman/LehighValleyNews.comXylazine, an animal-grade tranquilizer that's not approved for human use, has taken Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply by storm. Known on the streets as "tranq," it accounted for almost 1 in 4 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania by 2023. Last year in Lehigh County, it was a contributing cause of death in 20 of the 112 deadly overdoses, or 17.9 percent of cases.
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Showstoppers Boxing Club teaches youth how to box and stay out of trouble. That’s why Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley has uplifted the boxing club as an anti-violence initiative. -
There’s an intangible soon heading overseas in a couple hundred care packages: the comfort of knowing someone out there is thinking of you during the holidays.
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A new fellowship soon will be offered to doctors at St. Luke's University Health Network to tie addiction and mental health services together more closely.
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People in Florida are picking up the pieces of their lives as not one but two hurricanes batter the coast in as many weeks. Red Cross volunteers from the Lehigh Valley continue to lend a helping hand.
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Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio urges, 'Keep a close watch on family and friends' following seven suicides in 11 days.
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A new mental health clinic in Bethlehem is acknowledging World Mental Health Day by letting people know about their services.
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The Crime Victims Council of the Lehigh Valley offers mental health counseling to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and robbery. They also work with the families of murder victims.
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The next phase of construction is under way on a new Lehigh Valley behavioral health hospital as the last steel beam was placed Tuesday. The new facility will have 144 beds.
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The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission hosted a community forum on discrimination and other issues at the Allentown Public Library on Monday night.
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State Rep. Mike Schlossberg and mental health experts advocated for an increased investment in school-based health clinics at a news conference at Hays Elementary School in Allentown on Friday.
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The U.S. surgeon general issued a public health advisory about loneliness, isolation and lack of connection. The health consequences are enormous — equivalent by some estimates to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
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Lehigh Valley Mental Health Awareness Walk offers the public education and resources. Behavioral health needs are growing.
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The $25,000 fund, offered by Lehigh and Northampton counties, will be used to support the schools' Aevidum program.
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On July 1, the Girls on the Run Lehigh Valley and Pocono chapters will merge.
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Behavioral health services are moving from the current Allentown VA clinic. Veterans will soon receive mental health treatment at a new office.
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Hasshan Batts, executive director of Promise Neighborhoods of Lehigh Valley, has been named a Fulbright Specialist. He will travel abroad to share his expertise with other countries in areas of violence prevention and health care.
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After closing its doors in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, New Bethany South Side Drop-in reopened on Monday.
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Chris Yarnell is working to help Veterans.
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The offices that help Pennsylvanians keep their Medicaid benefits are facing persistent vacancies and a heavy workload. Advocates and staff fear people could lose coverage as a result.
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Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after six weeks of inpatient treatment for clinical depression, with plans to return to the Senate in mid-April.
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The students of Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts in Bethlehem are planning a mental health awareness social media campaign.
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A six-month investigation found the state’s “competency” review system is so broken it often extends incarceration, which can exacerbate mental health issues.
