{"id":142816,"date":"2025-05-29T23:11:46","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T03:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142816"},"modified":"2025-05-29T23:22:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T03:22:57","slug":"allentown-health-bureau-launches-community-survey-on-substance-use-and-stigma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142816","title":{"rendered":"Allentown Health Bureau Launches Community Survey on Substance Use and Stigma"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Allentown Health Bureau Launches Community Survey on Substance Use and Stigma<\/h1>\n<p>May 29, 2025 \u2014 The Allentown Health Bureau is inviting city residents to participate in a new Community Stigma Survey focused on substance use and the stigma surrounding addiction. This initiative seeks to better understand how public attitudes toward drug use affect individuals, families, and communities\u2014and how stigma can be reduced to support more compassionate, evidence-based approaches.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Stigma-Survey.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-142818\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Stigma-Survey-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"474\" height=\"474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Stigma-Survey-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Stigma-Survey-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Stigma-Survey-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Stigma-Survey-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Stigma-Survey-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Stigma-Survey.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe way we talk about and respond to substance use can significantly impact health outcomes and access to support,\u201d Allentown Health Director David Synnamon. \u201cThis survey gives our community a voice in shaping how we move forward as a city\u2014one that values empathy, public health, and real solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The survey, which focuses on opioids and other illicit substances, is anonymous and allows participants to skip questions they\u2019re not comfortable answering. The results will help guide the City\u2019s public health programming, policies, and education efforts.<\/p>\n<p>This survey effort builds on the Health Bureau\u2019s current work to address the opioid crisis, including the installation of two naloxone pole boxes at high-need locations in the city: 9th &amp; Linden Street (SW corner) and 7th &amp; Chew Street.<\/p>\n<p>These boxes contain naloxone, a life-saving medication that reverses opioid overdoses. The locations were selected based on overdose incident data and are situated in high-traffic areas to provide quicker access to emergency treatment. Each box includes clear instructions for use. This initiative was made possible through a partnership with Lehigh County Drug &amp; Alcohol Services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery effort counts when it comes to saving lives,\u201d Synnamon said. \u201cIn this case, whether it\u2019s increasing access to naloxone\u2014 or just changing the way we think and talk about addiction, we\u2019re committed to building a healthier, more inclusive Allentown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All are encouraged to take the survey at <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/AHBStigma?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExR0M5MnRXUjRuZ1ZoNkRnQQEeKFAGw-uPz0W0T9rO6djQ52KZPydDRIajetchVdgWn4wcqjkwTBA4Ag_vnaM_aem_ShuUiTmzw4iwDfiOlc3hGQ\">https:\/\/bit.ly\/AHBStigma<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Information provided to TVL by:<br \/>\nGenesis Ortega<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.AllentownPA.gov\">http:\/\/www.AllentownPA.gov<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Allentown Health Bureau Launches Community Survey on Substance Use and Stigma May 29, 2025 \u2014 The Allentown Health Bureau is inviting city residents to participate in a new Community Stigma &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=142816\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Allentown Health Bureau Launches Community Survey on Substance Use and Stigma<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142817,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5716,69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allentown","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/acss.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142816"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=142816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/142817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=142816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=142816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=142816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}