Officials in Columbia and Boone County will hold a town hall meeting this evening to discuss what they call the ongoing drug overdose crisis.
The Boone County Overdose Response Coalition and the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services will hold the 6:45 town meeting at Hickman high school, which is on the Business Loop. They say they want to gather feedback to address what they describe as a public health emergency.
Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude says overdoses occur in every neighborhood in our community, not just in certain areas. The event is free and open to the public. Columbia Police spokeswoman Jenny Hopper tells 939 the Eagle that Columbia had 13 confirmed fatal overdoses in 2023, along with 18 confirmed fatal overdoses in 2022. Ms. Hopper says there were 20 suspected fatal overdoses in both 2023 and 2022, along with four suspected fatal overdoses this year.
State Rep. Doug Mann (D-Columbia) has filed legislation that would require public institutions of higher education like Mizzou to have opioid overdose rescue kits available for public use on campuses.
Tonight’s free and open to the public.
