The April 7 event was part of National Public Health Week and a series of events by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, including an Emergency Preparedness Block Party at the Antelope Valley Wellness Community in Lancaster on Tuesday.

“This is great because, to realize we’re not alone, because the problem is huge,” said Ruben Rodriguez, executive director for Pueblo Y Salud in Palmdale. “We’re outgunned and outnumbered. Just alcohol is an example, it’s a multimillion dollar industry that is constantly promoting alcohol, alcohol consumption. Then obviously, we have the pharmaceuticals where drugs are being prescribed. It serves a purpose, but early on they were the contributors to the opioid epidemic, even though we’ve had that for years. All those prescriptions were legal.”