Tag Archives: Chris Abert

Mayor’s election campaign post is shared through city’s official account; Russiaville, Indiana tax preparer refuses her services to a lesbian couple; Indiana State Senate Republicans vote to gut hate crimes bill; Monroe County’s Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative saves the county money;  Monroe County Commissioners discuss the need for smoke detectors in rental units. FEATURE Chris Abert talks about the success of the Indiana Recovery Alliance and …

Chris Abert says he founded The Indiana Recovery Alliance after walking along the B-Line trail in Bloomington and handing out blankets years ago. The area non-profit is engaged in what Abert terms Harm-Reduction, helping people experiencing addiction work towards QUOTE Any positive change. The Indiana Recovery Alliance exchanges clean needles and paraphernalia, conducts training on how to reverse overdoses, and distributes …

It’s a felony to have a syringe in Indiana. Prosecuting attorneys can level a felony charge against a defendant, if they’re arrested in possession of a needle. In Monroe County, the number of arrests for needle possession doubled over the last year, despite the Monroe County Prosecutor’s office agreeing to throw out many syringe charges. Needle exchanges were allowed to …

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California; An interim operating agreement between the City of Bloomington and scooter companies Lime and Bird is now official; The Tapp and Rockport Road intersection is now open. FEATURE It’s illegal in the state of Indiana to have a syringe to use …

Yet another San Francisco-based electric scooter company is distributing its vehicles around Bloomington, as of this weekend; Next Tuesday, October 9th, is the last day to register to vote for this November’s midterm elections; Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton is joining with officials across the nation to demand the protection of U.S. forests. FEATURE Indiana’s highest ranking drug official stated on …

Buildings on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus lost power yesterday afternoon; Indiana Chamber of Commerce stated it will not support Republican Senate Candidate Mike Braun in his bid to unseat Democratic Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly this Fall; The Monroe County Community School Corporation’s Board of Trustees declined to put metal detectors in schools. FEATURE Tonight is the 4th annual overdose vigil in downtown …

The Indiana Recovery Alliance’s efforts seem to be paying off. Ahead of the 4th Annual Overdose Remembrance and Candlelight Vigil, the IRA has seen decreases in the number of overdoses deaths in Monroe County. Elsewhere in the state, overdose deaths continue to rise. IRA Founder and Director Chris Abert sees a causation in the correlation – Monroe County and Clark …

The Indiana Recovery Alliance and the Shalom Community Center handed out Hepatitis A vaccinations in Bloomington this afternoon. Indiana Recovery Alliance Founder and Director Chris Abert said the area organizations handed out around a dozen vaccinations for the disease. Abert said people experiencing homelessness and drug addiction are the among the most susceptible demographics to contract the disease, which is …

The Indiana Recovery Alliance, based in Bloomington, is closing in on reversing 2,000 overdoses. The announcement comes as a new study puts into context the economic impact of the opioid crisis on Indiana. Founder and Director Chris Abert says while that’s a de-humanizing perspective to approach the public health crisis from, it helps to convince legislators why harm-reduction efforts are …

This retrospective edition of the Daily Local News highlights some of our best reporting from 2017. We’ll hear from IU Foundation President Dan Smith about the Foundation’s offshoring of millions of dollars in the Cayman Islands; we’ll listen to IU students, as they protest the visitation of White supremacist Charles Murray; and we’ll hear from Indiana Recovery Alliance Founder Chris …