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Description
On this episode of CityTalk, John interviews Richard Linn from the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, Laura Drogowski from the Mayor's Office, and Maurice Matthews from the Office of Special Events.
A
Welcome
to
city
talk
where
we
have
to
answer
the
musical
question.
What
do
these
people
do
around
here
all
day,
oddly
enough
in
a
shocking
expose,
we
continue
to
reveal
many,
if
not
most,
teams
on
all
of
them
actually
work
say
hello
to
the
chief
of
River
rescue
operations,
Richard
Lynn
Richard,
welcome
to
the
program.
Thank
you
very
much
doing
so.
That
sounds
like
an
awesome
responsibility
tell
us
what
River
rescue
is
in
general.
In
the
first
place,.
B
Well,
River
rescue
was
born
in
1986
as
a
result
of
putting
the
fire.
Excuse
me,
the
police
patrol
River
Patrol,
along
with
the
EMS
dive
team.
It's
been
together
ever
since,
and
combining
the
efforts
of
police
officers
and
paramedics
who
are
divers
together
to
help
people
out
on
the
water
with
any
sort
of
emergency.
So.
B
B
B
A
B
A
B
Correct
I
mean
we
do
what
we
can
to
help
promote
safety
out
on
the
water
to
help
prevent
anybody
from
getting
hurt
or
injured.
But
that's
not
our
only
mission.
We
do
help
stranded
boaters.
We
help
with
evidence
recovery
for
the
police
departments
in
the
area,
as
well
as
enforce
the
laws
on
the
water.
A
B
B
A
B
B
There's
a
there's
a
three-tiered
approach
to
to
safety
out
on
the
water
whenever
you're
out
on
the
water.
One
is
know
the
water
know
where
the
the
problems
could
be
in
the
water.
If
you
don't
know,
ask
somebody
the
boating
community
is
a
bunch
of
friendly
people
and
they'll
be
more
than
happy
to
talk
to
you
and
explained
and
show
you
where
the
dangers
may
be
number
two
is
file
a
float
plan,
a
plan
where
somebody
other
than
whoever's
on
the
boat
knows
where
you
plan
on
being
on
the
water.
B
B
A
B
A
B
A
A
E
I
am
the
critical
communities
initiatives
manager
in
the
newly
formed
office
of
equity.
My
role
in
the
office
is
to
ensure
that
the
voices
of
individuals
who
may
have
less
opportunity
to
self-advocate,
who
are
often
not
thought
up
to
be
at
the
table,
but
are
frequently
deeply
affected
by
the
decisions
that
we're
making
is
to
ensure
that
those
voices
are
heard
that
we
are
focusing
on
those
needs
that
we're
not
leaving
people
behind.
As
we
move
forward
as
one
Pittsburgh
very
much
in
the
vision
of
the
mayor.
A
E
I
think
it's
it's
overwhelming
right
and
we
in
the
city
have
had
the
first
line
of
response
that
we
offer
as
our
fire,
police
and
EMS
and
they've
done
really
a
heroic
job
in
working
to
prevent
overdose.
So
when
you
hear
the
term
overdose
oftentimes,
you
think
that
person
has
died
in
reality
and
overdose
is
just
the
experience
that
a
person
has
if
it's
for
talking
about
an
opioid
where
their
respiratory
system
starts
to
shut
down.
E
So
we
have
a
chance
to
reverse
that
overdose
and
that's
a
great
thing
and
that's
what
our
first
responders
have
been
doing.
So
in
2016,
the
Public
Safety
Department
director
has
Rick
asked
that
all
first
responders
carry
narcan
narcan.
If
you
familiar
is
a
antidote
to
opioids
and
it's
extremely
effective.
It's
been
in
use
for
decades
and
it's
taken
some
time
for
it
to
be
made
available
to
the
lay
public,
but
all
of
our
first
responders
do
carry
it
and
all
first
responder
bureaus
respond
in
the
event
of
an
overdose.
E
So
whoever
can
get
there
first
would
get
there,
and
that
was
a
really
great
leadership
that
we
saw
from
our
Public
Safety
Department.
Fire
police
and
EMS
to
do
that.
So
one
of
our
great
lines
of
response
is
our
first
responders,
but
then,
after
we've
reversed
that
open
overdose,
it's
important
to
recognize
that
the
the
that
person
continues
to
live
in
a
situation
that
may
be
unsafe.
So.
E
Right
right:
it's
not
it's
not
easy,
I
guess
if
it
were
easy,
I
out
of
a
job
which
wouldn't
be
the
worst
thing
so
part
of
it
is
the
stigma
that
society
may
impose
on
individuals
right.
It's
calling
folks,
addicts
and
junkies
it's
thinking
of
a
person
as
being
defined
by
their
use
and
not
recognizing
that
this
is
a
person
who
may
be
struggling
with
something
maybe
not
be
as
healthy
as
we
want
them
to
be.
E
So
we
talked
a
lot
about
stigma.
Reduction
we've
been
working
in
partnership
with
the
Health
Department
to
ensure
that
we're
training
everybody
who's
willing
to
learn
how
to
reverse
an
opioid
overdose.
So
you
see,
I
have
my
I
carry
narcan
button
and
we've
been
trying
to
get
that
out
into
the
community
and
it
starts
conversation.
So
it
sounds
simple
right.
E
We
get
somewhat
too
trained
to
use
narcan,
but
then
they
don't
think
of
this
as
an
unapproachable
frightening
experience,
they
think
of
it
as
a
way
to
help
it's
just
the
way
we
learn
to
do
bystander
CPR.
So
we
can
all
be
members
of
the
community.
That's
helping
people
to
be
safer.
In
my
past,
I've
worked
with
the
syringe
exchange
program
in
the
city
of
Pittsburgh,
so
Allegheny,
County
and
Philadelphia
are
the
two
regions
in
the
state
that
allows
syringe
exchange.
E
So
if,
if
I'm
seeing
you
John
at
the
syringe
exchange
every
week
and
one
day
you
come
in
and
you've
decided
that
you'd,
like
some
different
help,
you'd
like
to
get
on
a
methadone
or
suboxone
program,
you'd
like
to
go
to
an
abstinence
based
treatment
program,
you
know
you
can
trust
me
with
that
question.
You
can
come
in
and
ask
so.
Our
needle
exchange
program
in
this
region
is
called
prevention
point
and
in
2017
they
had
about
a
30%
treatment.
Referral
right.
A
E
Know
it's
hard,
I
am
I,
mean
I,
didn't
always
work
in
the
government.
So
prior
to
working
here,
I
worked
for
a
company
that
was
jointly
owned
by
UPMC
and
GE
and
I've
grown
up
a
rat
outside
of
Pittsburgh,
so
I
I
know
now,
as
a
government,
employee
people
always
say,
but
I
live
in
Pittsburgh
and
then
you
know
the
the
address
is
outside
the
simulant
city
limits.
So
I
won't
make
the
mistake
of
saying:
I
grew
up
in
Pittsburgh.
I
grew
up
about
15
minutes
north.
My.
E
E
Yes,
I
think
I
have
had
the
privilege
of
encountering
a
large
number
of
very
dedicated
public
servants
work
a
lot
with
the
downtown
Public
Safety
folks,
our
police
officers
in
the
substation,
particularly
officers
Wissner
and
Kimbrough
I
work
a
lot
with
the
Zone
one
Commander
communal,
and
to
look
at
how
we
can
bridge
the
gap
between
inequities
in
the
way
that
we
might
be
interacting
with
individuals
in
our
communities
and
to
ensure
that
we
really
are
dedicated
to
the
health
and
the
outcomes
of
our
community
members.
Positive
outcomes,
Lord.
E
Carry
narcan
button
and
if
you
would
like
to
get
an
I,
carry
narcan
button
or
anything
else
you
can
reach
out
to
me
in
the
mayor's
office
and
I
will
make
that
available.
We
have
stickers
and
if
you'd
like
to
get
narcan,
you
can
get
it
in
the
pharmacy
it's
legal
to
get.
We
can
also
connect
you
with
the
Allegheny
County
Health
Department,
so
that
you
can
have
some
narcan
and
save
some
lives.
Thanks
free.
C
I'm
Nerdist
Roger
Cohen,
with
the
Office
of
Community,
Affairs
and
I,
have
an
important
announcement.
Snow
angels
is
a
program
that
helps
minimize
the
hardships
of
winter
by
pairing
volunteers
with
elderly
or
disabled
residents,
to
assist
with
snow
removal
if
you
need
help
or
want
to
volunteer
call
3-1-1
located
Pittsburgh
PA,
govt,
/,
snow
angels.
Thank
you.
A
Welcome
back
to
city
talks,
say
hello
to
maurice
Matthews
of
the
city's
Office
of
special
events.
Maurice
welcome
to
the
program:
hey
how's
it
going.
Okay,
man
how's
it
go
with
you
I'm
doing
fantastic.
You
look
fantastic
I!
Try!
Now
these
special
events,
everybody
in
the
city
of
Pittsburgh
and
surrounding
communities,
know
that
there's
boatloads
of
them,
but
give
us
an
idea
of
a
few
of
them
that
you
work
on
just
so,
people
will
know
what
you're
doing
day
to
day.
We.
F
F
F
A
Yeah,
we're
a
lean,
mean
fighting
machine,
that's
right
right,
serving
the
taxpayers.
So,
for
example,
you
and
I
have
worked
together
on
Bach,
Beethoven
and
brunch.
You
doing
a
lot
more
work
than
me
who
just
kind
of
shows
up.
Yes,
but
you
have
tents
to
set
up.
You
have
stages
to
set
up
the
end.
It
can
take
hours
to
set
up
all
this
equipment
and
tables
and
chairs,
etc.
Correct
yeah.
F
It
could
take
hours
but
like
a
week
before
I'll
get
together
with
via
email
and
talk
to
the
band,
see
how
many
chairs
they
need
on
the
stage
what
they
need,
audio,
wise
and
then
I
just
come
together
with
my
team
and
we
kind
of
kind
of
break
down
what
we
need
to
be.
You
know
how
to
make
things
run
efficiently
like
an
efficient
machine.
That's
basically
what
our
office
is
so
you'd.
F
Honestly,
I
was
just
on
the
city's
website
one
day
just
going
through
looking
for
jobs,
I
moved
up
here
from
Washington
DC
and
then
I
was
like
working
odd
jobs
around
town
and
kind
of
just
going
on
internet.
One
of
us
he's
website
and
saw
this
I
was,
like
you
know,
special
event
planning.
You
know
I
kind
of
had
that
experience
in
college.
You
know
when
you
want
to
throw
like
a
little
house
party
or
something
you
got
to
make
sure
everything's
good.
Logistically.
A
F
F
F
Excessively
hot
I
know
I
hydrate,
you
know
myself
and
we
always
have
like
water
on
your
own
hand,
with
our
staff
lightning.
We
kind
of
like
check
our
phones
to
make
sure
that
you
know
severe
thunderstorm
warnings
or
watches.
If
that's
that's
coming
up
in
the
area
and
we
have
to
like
shut
everything
down,
especially
on
that
movie
nights.
You
knows,
we've
got
this
big
screen,
you
got
people
say
now
in
open
fields.
That's
a
very
popular
one,
though.
F
F
A
F
F
F
Brian
case
he
loves
to
hear
what
we
have
to
say,
and
you
know
to
kind
of
make
things
you
know
new.
You
don't
want
to
always
have
something
like
the
same.
You
want
to
change
it
up
a
little
bit
and
he
welcomes
that
and
which
I
love
it
I've
never
ever
had
a
job
like
that
or
even
my
friends,
don't
even
have
jobs
where
their
input
matters
so.