Editing Opioid Crisis (section)

== Social Impact ==

The opioid crisis has devastated families and communities across Philadelphia. Children have lost parents to overdoses and been placed in foster care or with relatives. Parents have watched children spiral into addiction and death. The trauma extends across generations as addiction disrupts family structures and imposes burdens on those who remain. The costs—human, social, economic—are incalculable. Employers struggle to find workers who can pass drug tests. Hospitals handle overdose cases that strain emergency departments. Prisons and jails hold inmates whose crimes relate to addiction. Every Philadelphia institution has been affected.<ref name="macy"/>

The crisis has intersected with other urban problems. Homelessness has increased as addiction drives people from housing. Mental health services face demands they cannot meet. The [[AIDS Crisis in Philadelphia|HIV/AIDS crisis]] has returned as needle-sharing spreads infection. Neighborhoods affected by the crisis see property values decline and businesses close. The compounding of problems makes response more difficult; addressing addiction requires addressing housing, mental health, employment, and other needs simultaneously. No single intervention can solve a crisis with so many dimensions.<ref name="quinones"/>