Most Eastern District Branches in PA were represented at this year’s District Meeting on November 3. Organized by members of the Doylestown and Lansdale Branches, and presided over by Easter District Coordinator, Peg Pennypacker, the event took place at Delaware Valley University in Doylestown.

The featured speaker was PA Magisterial District Court Judge Andrea Hudak Duffy, who has developed an innovative approach to dealing with drug addicted defendants. Judge Duffy sees more than her share of drug addicts in her court, because her district is right on the Route 309 corridor connecting the drug markets in the Kensington section of Philadelphia with the western suburbs. For many years, people stop for low-level drug offenses were simply issued summonses to appear in court. In 2013, concerned about the number of defendants who were not showing up in response to summons, Judge Duffy had her staff follow up on a sample of these no-shows and found that two defendants in that small group were already dead from drug overdoses. In response, a new policy was instituted whereby police immediately brought all defendants with obvious drug problems before her court, so that she could attempt to intervene more quickly. The problem was that, although treatment was clearly the preferred approach, there were major obstacles to treatment, including lack of insurance, transportation and available beds.

Judge Duffy set out to understand the problem better, even visiting Kensington’s drug markets both with the police and with a Angels in Motion, a local non-profit that does outreach to addicts on the street. In 2015, she invited everyone in the area with a stake in the addiction issue to a meeting and the Drug Addiction Resource Alliance was formed. Through this network, which continues to expand, Judge Duffy is now usually able to find treatment options immediately or within a couple of days for the addicts that appear before her. The Alliance also holds public forums to educate the public about the issues and provides supplies of Narcan, a drug used for treatment in opioid emergencies to prevent deaths.

After Judge Duffy’s presentation, the AAUW members and guests present shared lunch and a slideshow highlighting the achievements of Eastern District branches. Branch representatives also shared reports on their upcoming activities and fundraisers and experiences.