“Sometimes it seems like overdose deaths are put into figures or they are just statistics,” said Gracie Hemphill, Clark County Combined Health District Health planning supervisor. “But there are people, there are families, that are affected by this every day.”

On Wednesday, several county non-profits held Overdose Awareness Day events to distribute Narcan kits, educate people on where they can get help and to bring awareness to overdose issues.

Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) was at RiverScape MetroPark in Dayton providing Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone) training and kits, along with sharing other drug addiction resources as part of Overdose Awareness Day.

“Overdose Awareness Day is so important to remember those we have lost to overdoses and the families they leave behind and to create conversations to reduce stigma,” said Tina Rezash Rogal, ADAMHS director of strategic initiatives and communications.

ADAMHS handed out 35 Narcan kits on Wednesday with the goal of preventing more overdose deaths.

“In 2020 during the lockdown due to COVID, many people who lost their lives to overdose were due to the fact they were using substances alone, and in those instances, there’s no one to call for help and there’s no one to administer Narcan,” Rogal said. “So today’s Narcan distribution is so important because people are back together again, so if someone is experiencing an overdose and someone nearby has Narcan, a life can be saved.”

There were 239 overdose deaths in Montgomery County between January and August in 2021. Preliminary data for 2022 shows there have been approximately 184 overdose deaths since the beginning of this year, according to the Montgomery County Overdose Death Dashboard.

Nationally, provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics estimate there were 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021, which was a 15% increase over 2020, during which time there were an estimated 93,655 overdose deaths. Overdose deaths also increased 30% from 2019 to 2020.

Synthetic opioids appear to be driving the increase of deaths nationally, although deaths involving psychostimulants like methamphetamine are increasing both involving and without the addition of synthetic opioids. According to the CDC, approximately 75% of drug overdoses in 2020 involved an opioid, and of those deaths, over 82% involved synthetic opioids.

On Wednesday, the Clark County Combined Health District distributed Narcan and prevention awareness resources in Springfield.

“Overdose awareness day is an opportunity to educate the community and public about a well-known, but often misunderstood death, and gives us a time remember lives that are lost to deaths and to reduce stigma surrounding overdoes deaths and how we talk about them,” Hemphill said.

Overdose deaths in Clark County increased in 2021, following a three-year decrease, the county said.

A total of 79 overdose deaths were recorded countywide last year, the most since 2017 when there were 105.

Eighteen overdoses have been recorded this year through May and illicit fentanyl remains a leading contributor of overdoses, according to the release.

It’s involved in over 68% of overdose deaths in Clark County.

Local agency hits milestone

There are approximately 50 mental health and substance abuse organizations operating locally, and one nonprofit that addresses addiction, OneFifteen, reached the milestone of helping 5,000 patients since it opened in October 2019.

The drug and alcohol rehabilitation center has a five-acre campus on Hopeland Street in Dayton, just south of the old St. Elizabeth medical complex. OneFifteen provides a range of services to help those living with substance use disorders, including both inpatient and outpatient treatment options. They also offer medication-assisted treatment options.

“We know that the path of recovery is a personal journey,” said Barb Marsh, chief operating officer at OneFifteen. “We are somewhat unique in that we offer every level of care on one campus.”

OneFifteen also began adding telehealth options during the pandemic to make sure individuals still had access to their treatment.

“The biggest challenge has been the COVID-19 pandemic,” Marsh said. “We pivoted quickly to ensure that services did not stop.”

Leadership at OneFifteen attributed the 5,000-patient milestone to its staff and other partnerships.

“We would not be able to reach this milestone without the tireless dedication of our staff to patients and clients on their path to recovery.” said Marti Taylor, president and CEO of OneFifteen. “Our team could not have predicted the challenges that we, and every behavioral health provider, faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am proud that our team was able to navigate the pandemic with strength and resolve to live our mission, and expand access to care for those in need.”

OneFifteen partners with RI International and Samaritan Behavioral Health, Inc. to provide services. Its founding partners include Montgomery County ADAMHS, Kettering Health Network, Premier Health, Verily, and Alexandria Real Estate Equities.

Marsh also mentioned local community partnerships, like with nearby neighborhood associations, which have been “critical to our success.” OneFifteen has also partnered with Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine as a training site to help meet the growing workforce demands.

How to get help

---Those who want Project DAWN kits, or need new kits, can visit the Ohio Department of Health’s website.

--- For more information about OneFifteen, call 937-535-5115 or come to its Crisis Stabilization Unit at 707 S. Edwin C Moses Blvd. in Dayton.