Township supervisor Barbara Lyons isn’t shying away from the fact that her community and others have a serious drug problem.

“We have heroin addiction in Doylestown Township,” said Lyons, chair of the Doylestown Township Board of Supervisors in Bucks County. “We decided to talk about it – and talk loudly about it – because everyone thinks it’s not happening here, but it is happening here. It’s happening in every community in Pennsylvania.”

Lyons is among those appearing on the latest episode of the Township Video News, an online news program produced by the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors.

The special report, “Heroin Hits Home,” is airing now at www.psats.org.

Also featured are Sen. Eugene Yaw, board chair of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, which recently held hearings and released a comprehensive report on Pennsylvania’s heroin epidemic, and Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Adam Reed.

“Heroin is cheap – cheaper than a six pack of beer – and it’s killing people from all walks of life across the state. It’s an equal-opportunity destroyer,” PSATS Executive Director Dave Sanko said.

“Our Association developed this special report to raise awareness about the heroin epidemic, which is at the root of thousands of deaths and overdoses in Pennsylvania alone. We also want to help local leaders understand what they can do get this public nightmare under control while helping residents who have fallen into the cycle of addiction.”

The TVN Special Report also explores the use of Naloxone, which state and local police have started carrying to reverse heroin overdoses.

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Editor’s Note: PSATS represents the 1,454 townships of the second class across Pennsylvania.

Townships, in turn, represent 5.5 million Pennsylvanians, more than any other type of political subdivision in the commonwealth and cover 95 percent of the commonwealth’s land mass.