Kane County Deals With More Drug Use, Poorer Mental Health

kane county health
Addiction counselor DeValle Williams calls a treatment center trying to find a place for one of his opioid-addicted clients at the nurses station at Saint Anthony Hospital in October 2017. Long before President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency, Williams and his team were fighting in the trenches where it's tough to tell victory from defeat on any given day. Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press
kane county health
Addiction counselor DeValle Williams calls a treatment center trying to find a place for one of his opioid-addicted clients at the nurses station at Saint Anthony Hospital in October 2017. Long before President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency, Williams and his team were fighting in the trenches where it's tough to tell victory from defeat on any given day. Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press

Kane County Deals With More Drug Use, Poorer Mental Health

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

Kane County residents are using more illicit drugs and reporting poorer mental health than four years ago, according to a recent survey from the county’s health department.

Morning Shift talks to Barb Jeffers about how her department is dealing with increased drug use and how the county’s mental health tax will help fund mental health and addiction services.

GUEST: Barb Jeffers, executive director of the Kane County Public Health Department

LEARN MORE: Survey Shows Worsening Mental Health, Increased Illicit Drug Use In Kane County (Daily Herald 4/19/19)