OUR ISSUE

Because of its proximity to the Allegheny County line,

its central corridor of highways, and its abundance of disposable income,

our area is both a target of and a conduit for a growing drug trade.

CORRIDOR OF CONCERN:

Map illustrating total number of fatal overdoses by incident location, January 1, 2009 through January 1, 2016. Data includes all overdose deaths where drugs are included on the death certificate as contributing to the cause of death.

Note the correlation between the Route 30 and Route 22 corridors and number of instances shown.

Source: OverdoseFreePA - Map Data

ABOUT PTCDA

Penn-Trafford Citizens for Drug Awareness, Inc. (PTCDA) is a 501(c)3 organization formed to provide information and increase awareness regarding the growing drug crisis in our region.

It is a community service organization open to anyone, age 18 or over, who wishes to contribute toward efforts to educate our community about the mounting issues of prescription and illicit drug abuse.

PTCDA is a coalition of community groups including Community United Methodist Church, Bushy Run Lions Club, Community Womens Club of Level Green, Harrison City Womens Club, Level Green Lions Club, Manor Lions Club, Penn Township Police Department, Trafford Lions Club, and more.

(Graph below - data for closed cases through 2/9/2019; source: https://www.co.westmoreland.pa.us/)

THE HARD TRUTH

35%

DECREASE IN OVERDOSE DEATHS in 2018

A majority of victims

DIED WITH MULTIPLE DRUGS IN SYSTEM

31-40

MOST COMMON AGE OF VICTIM in 2018

A lot of us tend to think that drug addition is a young person's issue, or that drug traffic happens in an urban environment -- that it couldn't happen around here.

Since you're here at this site, you already know better. This issue is right here at home, and it is an issue of public health that requires time and attention. It does not discriminate.

The age group most often represented by an overdose death in Westmoreland County in 2018 was age 31-40. The majority of the 122 overdose deaths were persons with more than one drug found in their system. Though heroin is a most insidious and dangerous drug, some of the most commonly abused drugs are prescription drugs.

Click here to download the PDF brochure of
"10 Drug Myths of Westmoreland County" to learn more.