Maria Quinones-Sanchez, a Philadelphia councilmember, spoke on local issues surrounding the opioid crisis to a room of students and St. Joe’s community members in the North Lounge of the Campion Student Center on Feb. 12.

Elected in 2007, Quinones-Sanchez is currently in her fourth term on the Philadelphia City Council and is focused on pushing for progress in the Kensington district, which she said has been seriously affected by the crisis. Kensington populates over 500 people experiencing homelessness, many of whom use opioids daily in front of families and children, according to Quinones-Sanchez.

“With everything that I’ve been involved with in the past 30 years, nothing is more intense and nothing is more important than this [issue],” Quinones-Sanchez said. “It’s important that people see the layers of it, so that regardless of their stances on policy, there is empathy and sympathy for everyone.”

Stephen Forzato, director of the Center for Addiction and Recovery Education (CARE), attended the event. He said the talk is representative of St. Joe’s mission to care for the whole person, and it was an opportunity to learn about addiction and recovery.

“If we want students to engage with their communities when they leave here, it’s important for students to listen to this and pay attention to the issue, because it’s 20 minutes away,” Forzato said.

A key problem is that opioids, in districts like Kensington, have become normalized, and the organizations put in place to oversee these issues are inefficient, according to Quinones-Sanchez.

“There will be such a long term effect to this, to situations that we’ve normalized,” Quinones-Sanchez said. “When I talk to young people, they are strong. They say they’ve seen this before. I worry about how this will impact their ability to make good decisions when they’ve seen so many people make bad ones day to day. I don’t know what it will look like in 10 years.”

Peter Norberg, Ph.D., associate provost for academic and faculty support, helped start CARE. Norberg attended the talk, as this is an issue he said he has been passionate about.

“It’s important for [students] to know about affected communities in Philadelphia, because it’s going to impact their generation,” Norberg said. “Hopefully they can help to be part of the solution.”

A key focus for Quinones-Sanchez is getting people with opioid addiction into treatment and to get treatment that is effective for them.

“I’ve learned from those in addiction that every success story is going to be different,” Quinones-Sanchez said. “We need to be flexible and nimble to help people reach success. There is no set program.”

Quinones-Sanchez also said that she would like to focus on the reunification of families, as there is currently no support in place for the families of those who are addicted.

“There is no one who survives recovery without the support of their family,” Quinones-Sanchez said.

Ryan Kelly ’22, who is from Massachusetts, a state severely affected by the opioid crisis, said he was unaware of the crisis in the Philadelphia area.

“It’s definitely an eye-opener that this is the reality for people two train stops away, right down the street,” Kelly said. “It’s definitely something I feel more informed about and more motivated to make a difference.”

For Quinones-Sanchez, she said she fundamentally wants to have a positive effect on local families and community members.

“I believe that developing a plan to help families take loved ones back is ultimately the best investment we can make,” Quinones-Sanchez said.