This story aired originally aired on July 20, 2023. It aired most recently in the January 6, 2025 episode of Crosscurrents.
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In the second installment of the series, 'In Harm's Way: Workers Battle the Overdose Crisis' we meet West Oakland Punks with Lunch, a group that's been providing sandwiches, cookies, syringes, and lifesaving services for unhoused residents in the community. A state grant has helped make that work sustainable.
This is our altar, and on it is all the names of the people we lost to overdoses. They’re always present with us. Memoralize them, make them present, because they drive what we do.
This story was edited by Lisa Morehouse and engineered by Galnadgee Joe-Johnson and this series is supported by the 2023 Center for Health Journalism California Health Equity Fellowship.
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