The City of West Hollywood joins the recovery community in recognizing Thursday, August 31, 2024, as Overdose Awareness Day, a global event held annually to remember and memorialize the lives lost to drug overdoses and to promote awareness about the importance of overdose prevention. West Hollywood City Hall and the City’s lanterns over Santa Monica Boulevard will be lit in purple, the color of recognition for Overdose Awareness Day. The City will also include #OverdoseAwarenessDay messaging via @wehocity social media.

Originating in 2001, Overdose Awareness Day has become the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdoses and stimulate action and discussion about evidence-based treatment and harm reduction. Numbering nearly 110,000 overdose deaths, 2022 saw the highest recorded deaths in a calendar year in the United States, compared with 109,179 in 2021, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid, has been a significant factor in the rise of deadly overdoses and accidental drug poisonings. In 2022, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a Public Safety Alert on the widespread drug trafficking of fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills in American communities. The DEA Laboratory has found that, of the fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills analyzed in 2022, six out of ten now contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.

Accidental fentanyl overdose deaths in Los Angeles County increased 1,280% from 109 deaths in 2016 to 1,910 deaths in 2022. Fentanyl is an addictive and deadly synthetic opioid that has been found in counterfeit pharmaceuticals and illicit substances such as methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and ecstasy. It is especially dangerous because people are often unaware of Fentanyl contamination within the substances they are using. The potency of fentanyl (as high as 50 to 100 times the potency of morphine) greatly increases the risk of overdose. Fentanyl overdoses continue to be a significant and growing public health problem that impacts people across race, ethnicity, and the socioeconomic spectrum.

The City of West Hollywood contracts with many agencies to provide programming and services for people with substance use disorders and has taken steps to educate and raise awareness about the harms of fentanyl.

In 2019, the City began partnering with its contracted and collaborative agency partners to distribute fentanyl test strips to the community. In 2023 and 2024, free fentanyl test strips and Naloxone/Narcan were available throughout the WeHo Pride Street Fair. Accidental overdose deaths caused by fentanyl can be prevented by fentanyl test strips and a life-saving medication called Naloxone (or by the brand name Narcan). The fentanyl test strip is a harm reduction tool used to test substances for trace amounts of fentanyl, and it provides an indicator of how lethal the substance might be prior to consuming it. Naloxone/Narcan quickly reverses an overdose by blocking the effects of opioids and it can restore normal breathing within minutes in a person whose breath has slowed or stopped due to an overdose.

The Harm Reduction Center, operated by Being Alive, opened in West Hollywood in early July 2024. Located at 7976 Santa Monica Boulevard, it is open Tuesday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and offers syringe exchange, free Narcan, harm reduction supplies, risk-reduction counseling, and support services.

The City partners with the Drug Awareness Foundation in work to raise awareness and end stigma about substance abuse and to provide primary prevention resources and support to grieving families. Since 2018, the Foundation has been dedicated to creating spaces for dialogue and action for families and loved ones who have experienced a loss of life due to a drug overdose. More information can be found by visiting drugawarenessfoundation.com.

The City is continuing the renovation of the historic Log Cabin building, which houses the West Hollywood Recovery Center (WHRC) on N. Robertson Boulevard. On Monday, August 5, 2024, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath presented a $3 million commitment of American Rescue Plan funds to West Hollywood officials and representatives from the West Hollywood Recovery Center (WHRC). The funding was approved by the LA County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, August 6, 2024 to support the ongoing renovation of the Log Cabin, which serves as home to WHRC. Renovations are expected to be completed in 2026. Updated information about the Log Cabin renovation project can be found at go.weho.org/logcabin.

Substance use and addiction recovery treatment services resources include:

• APLA HEALTH

(213) 201-1600 |  www.aplahealth.org

Health services, HIV support services, and prevention/health education for people living with and affected by HIV, the LGBT community, and other underserved communities. Party Wise Crystal Methamphetamine Program offers risk-reduction trainings, support groups and community events for gay men who use methamphetamine.

• AWAKENING RECOVERY

(424) 209-7507 | www.awakeningrecovery.org

An affordable and safe sober living environment that motivates sustained recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction through its comprehensive structure.

• BEING ALIVE HARM REDUCTION CENTER

(323) 848-4445 | beingalivela.org | 7976 Santa Monica Boulevard

From Tuesday through Saturday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., the Harm Reduction Center offers participants free sterile syringes and needles, safe disposal, Naloxone/Narcan, harm reduction supplies, overdose education, condoms, and PrEP resources.

• LOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER

(323) 993-7448 | www.lalgbtcenter.org/health-services/addiction-recovery-services

Provides addiction recovery services, outpatient treatment, Crystal Meth support groups, and one-on-one therapy.

• TARZANA TREATMENT CENTERS

(888) 777-8565 | www.tarzanatc.org

Provides inpatient medical withdrawal management and psychiatric stabilization, residential and outpatient substance use disorder treatment, outpatient mental health, and residential rehab for teens/youth and adults; primary care clinics; and HIV/AIDS services including specialty medical care.

• TWEAKERS PROJECT

www.facebook.com/groups/thetweakersproject

A group used for people to offer information, education and support to talk openly and freely about their own recovery from meth use or recovering from the trauma of their loved ones’ use.

• TWIN TOWN TREATMENT CENTERS

(866) 594-8844 | www.twintowntreatmentcenters.com

Offers six intensive outpatient treatment programs for adult and adolescent addictions in Los Angeles and Orange County (including West Hollywood location). Accepts most insurance plans and/or flex payment schedules.

The City of West Hollywood’s Human Services Division website area provides a list of service providers the City contracts with to provide addiction and recovery resources at www.weho.org/services/human-services/substance-abuse-addiction-recovery.

For more information, please contact the City of West Hollywood’s Human Services Division at (323) 848-6510. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.

For up-to-date information about City of West Hollywood news and events, follow @wehocity on social media, sign-up for news updates at www.weho.org/email, and visit the City’s calendar of meetings and events at www.weho.org/calendar. West Hollywood City Hall is open for walk-in services at public counters or by appointment by visiting www.weho.org/appointments. City Hall services are accessible by phone at (323) 848-6400 and via website at www.weho.org. Receive text updates by texting “WeHo” to (323) 848-5000.

For reporters and members of the media seeking additional information about the City of West Hollywood, please contact the City of West Hollywood’s Public Information Officer, Sheri A. Lunn, at (323) 848-6391 or slunn@weho.org.