-
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.
-
The 11-year-old Golden Retriever comforted Stephen Zamojski, whose Saint Bernard recently passed. -
Two live reindeer visited residents at the Fellowship Community continuing care retirement community in Whitehall Township on Tuesday.
-
After 40 years with the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown, CEO Deb Fries-Jackson is retiring. The Allentown native and former school teacher was instrumental in the merger of the local Girls Club and Boys Club in 2002.
-
LehighValleyNews.com and PBS39 hosted a community conversation on interfaith relations amid the Israel-Hamas war. The program also contained advice on how to manage social media and speak to children about the unrest.
-
The Allentown School District held Unity Day events at its 15 elementary schools on Wednesday. The message at each focused on bullying prevention, as October is National Bullying Prevention Month.
-
The conflict in Israel has played out across social media. The graphic nature of the videos and stories can have an impact on your mental health, according to a Lehigh Valley therapist.
-
WLVR's Megan Frank talks with reporters Tom Shortell and Brittany Sweeney.
-
The Suicide Prevention Coalition of Lehigh County is starting its LOSS Team, which will serve as first responders to assist families caught in the immediate aftermath of a suicide.
-
DeSales University professor Elisabeth Felten is in her second year teaching non-traditional, special needs adults to give them a college experience.
-
An upcoming event in the Lehigh Valley aims to educate people about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. It’s a topic not often talked about that plagues a number of new parents.
-
The third annual Revolutions for Inclusion Bike Ride raises money for the Easter Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center. A local father's memory lives on through the third annual fundraising event.
-
State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, is the architect of a bill that would allocate $100 million of federal American Rescue Plan funding for mental health programs. It passed the House last week and is under state Senate consideration.
-
The smoke may be clearing, but anxiety from the eerie event may stick with us. A Lehigh Valley therapist has some ways to get past the uneasy feelings left behind after this week's smoke-filled skies.
-
Allentown school board is considering whether Raub Middle School would benefit from a $1.2 million grant where several community groups would work with at-risk middle school students over two years, under a proposed plan.
-
The bill, spearheaded by state Rep. Mike Schlossberg, would dedicate American Rescue Plan money to training mental health care providers, creating more suicide prevention programs and supporting specialty courts.
-
The 21st Century program is to help students with academic support and art and music enrichment.
-
Loneliness, isolation and social disconnect are a public health crisis in the United States. Brittany Sweeney hosts a community conversation to examine the factors that contribute to isolation — and what we can do to avoid it.
-
A housing facility for inmates with severe mental illness is now open in Northampton County. The Shiloh Restoration Center will have 8-beds and provide mental and behavioral health support.
-
The free classes will take place at Cedar Beach and ArtsWalk parks through June, with the Cedar Beach sessions extending through the summer. The classes are a partnership between the yoga studios and the city's Parks and Recreation Department.
-
Take a look at stories throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.
-
A new advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General warns of the harmful effects social media can have on the well-being of kids and teens. A psychologist from the University of Pennsylvania has advice for parents.
-
A Lehigh Valley author is releasing a new self-help book on anxiety. He said he saw the need for more information on the topic following the pandemic.
