‘Some of them, I couldn’t save’
There’s another problem on the collective conscience in the surrounding counties, but this one is harder to talk about.
That’s because several people have seen the drug epidemic firsthand, including 31-year-old Tori Miller, who says she lost multiple friends to heroin and crack. She recalls seeing some “nasty things” in her community in New Brighton, including shootings, fights and gang activity.
“A few friends, a couple of them, got out of it,” Ms. Miller says of drug addiction. “Some of them, I couldn’t save.”
All five counties bordering Allegheny — Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland and Armstrong — have higher drug-related overdose death rates than the average county in Pennsylvania. At 43.3 deaths per 100,000 people, Armstrong had the second-highest rate in the state in 2015. The national rate was 14.7 deaths in 2014, according to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The pervasiveness of the drug epidemic in otherwise quiet communities has forced some to become caretakers, and in some cases, lifesavers. Mr. McDaniel is prepared if that day ever comes.
“I know people with heroin issues. I share with them. I say, ‘Man, if you get struggling or you need some help or you need this or that, let me know, man. We’ll get you into help, we’ll get you into counseling, we’ll get you into rehab, whatever it takes, man, whatever it takes to get that away from you,’” Mr. McDaniel said.
Facing a surging opioid overdose rate nationwide, Mr. Trump has pledged to end the crisis, offering a plan to strictly prosecute drug traffickers, broaden access to lifesaving antidotes and close shipping loopholes to stop drugs from coming into the country.
Whether there’s a political solution to the epidemic remains to be seen, but for 77year-old Union Township resident Tim Welty and others who have seen it ravage the communities they’ve lived in all their lives, the search for a remedy is imperative.
“I think this is something that parents and educators and everybody has to come together on to find the solution,” Mr. Welty said.
Whatever it takes
With every new president comes hope for a new America, but many in Western Pennsylvania are counting on Mr. Trump himself to bring change to their struggling communities.