Butler is joining 26 other counties in Pennsylvania in an effort to reduce accidental overdose deaths and help people dealing with substance abuse stay out of jail.

We learned in the Thursday, Nov. 2, edition of the Butler Eagle that Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry was in Butler Wednesday to announce that Butler is the 27th county in the state to join the Law Enforcement Treatment Initiative. Referred to as LETI, the program is coordinated by the Attorney General’s Office and run by each county’s district attorney.

The idea is simple: People seeking drug treatment can reach out to probation and parole services, county sheriff offices or local police department, and can do so without fear of being arrested.

That fear is one reason people can be reluctant to seek help, and that has serious consequences. An average of 14 people die from overdoses every day in Pennsylvania, for example.

During Wednesday’s announcement, Henry said it was time for the way substance abuse is handled to change.

“We all know now that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem,” Henry said. “It is so imperative that we change the way we do things.”

There are multiple ways people can take advantage of the initiative. They can reach out directly to police or probation and parole, for example, or a police officer can refer someone who is struggling with substance abuse but is willing to get treatment.

District judges also could refer someone to the initiative, while drug treatment court is the fourth referral method.

Donna Jenereski, director of the Butler County Drug and Alcohol Program, praised the program, saying it would offer people a second chance.

“This program is not about being soft on crime,” Donna Jenereski, director of the Butler County Drug and Alcohol Program said. “It’s about connecting people to the treatment they desperately need and holding them accountable.”

The continuing substance abuse problems our area and the entire nation face require new solutions. Programs like LETI are a step in the right direction.

— JK