Two counselors at an addiction facility died from opioid overdoses last Sunday, according to a press release issued today by Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan.

Emergency responders were called to Freedom Ridge Recovery Lodge in West Brandywine shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, May 21 after residents found the two counselors unresponsive in their respective rooms. The residents first tried to revive one of the counselors with naloxone, but were unsuccessful and called the police, the press release said.

Both counselors were pronounced dead at the scene. In the bedrooms, police found used needles and small bags of heroin near the bodies.

“If anyone is wondering how bad the opioid epidemic has become,” Hogan said, “this case is a frightening example. The staff members in charge of supervising recovering addicts succumbed to their own addiction.”

Vince Brown, director of the Chester County Department of Drug and Alcohol said, “The deaths are tragic examples of the impact that the heroin and opioid epidemic continues to have on our communities.”

Freedom Ridge Recovery Lodge, on Freedom Valley Circle, is a private residence used as a group home or halfway house for individuals struggling with addiction. Six men lived there as part if their recovery. Counselors were responsible for establishing daily activities and keeping medication under lock-and-key.

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