W
ith prescription pain medicine and heroin addiction rising
across our region, and with overdose as the leading cause
of deaths (including five recent Norwin graduates since
December 2016), it is critical that the greater Norwin
community further help its youth through awareness,
prevention, and education.
Across Pennsylvania, 4,642 people died of drug-related overdoses in
2016 — a 37 percent increase from the prior year, according to the Drug
Enforcement Administration. In Westmoreland County, 174 people died
of drug-related overdoses in 2016, also an increase from the prior year,
according to the coroner’s office.
Norwin became a national leader by integrating Operation Prevention
within health and physical education classes at