By the numbers

Confirmed Mahoning County overdose deaths over the past decade:

2014 60

2015 69

2016 91

2017 104

2018 117

2019 103

2020 140

2021 161

2022 152

2023* 83

*Through Aug. 30, compared with 73 through Aug, 30, 2022

SOURCE: Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board

YOUNGSTOWN — The number of Mahoning County drug overdose deaths hit 161 in 2021 — the highest number ever — but dropped to 152 last year but appear to be rising again this year.

Brenda Heidinger, Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board associate director, said the county had 83 confirmed drug overdose deaths through Aug. 30. Through Aug. 30 of last year, there were 73.

Overdose deaths spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020. Heidinger said COVID-19 seemed to be a factor.

“Lack of access to in-person services, such as treatment and group meetings, certainly left people living with addiction somewhat adrift,” she said. “In-person services are now in place and people are again getting involved in support group meetings. This is giving them the supports they need to overcome addiction and live their lives in recovery.”

“The pandemic truly was the perfect storm,” Heidinger said last year. “You didn’t have meetings. You didn’t have treatment. You weren’t seeing your counselor — and you were getting money.” The money remark was a reference to federal stimulus payments.

Heidinger said last month that fentanyl continues to be a driver of drug overdose deaths.

“We are seeing fentanyl in 91% of deaths,” she said. “It may not have been the cause of death, but it was a contributing factor in the death.” Meanwhile, 61% had cocaine in their system.

Her conclusion is that there is “fentanyl in the cocaine supply.” She called that a big concern among those in the treatment business. If somebody thinks they are buying cocaine and got fentanyl, they may not have a tolerance to fentanyl and might overdose, she said.

OPIOID SETTLEMENTS

Heidinger was asked what effect additional funds coming to Mahoning County in the coming year from opiate lawsuit settlements will have.

“It allows us to provide more treatment and more peers, who are people with lived experience who can help others find recovery,” she said.

Peer recovery specialists are paid employees in Mercy Health emergency room facilities in Mahoning County. They also work in recovery houses. The concept grew in 2017 during the last big spike in overdose deaths.

Heidinger and Duane Piccirilli, Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board executive director, have said the advantage of having a recovering addict speak to someone in addiction and recovery is that person has gone through recovery and has credibility with his or her peers.

“We are seeing more peers coming into the workforce and being trained,” Heidinger said last month. “Hopefully that will make a difference because we’ll have more peers out there able to provide the service. It’s a growing field.”

Heidinger noted, however, “Like any problem, all the money in the world doesn’t fix it if you don’t have people out there trying to help other people and make things better.”

ONEOHIO FOUNDATION

The OneOhio Recovery Foundation has been set up as a statewide foundation to distribute the funds. The region that includes Mahoning County is waiting for the process to be complete so that the funds can be distributed, probably starting early next year, Heidinger said.

She said she hopes that funding for Mahoning County might continue the types of peer recovery efforts that began in the county around 2018 — putting peer recovery specialists into programs and into Mercy Health “where they could talk to people right after the overdose to try to get them into treatment and into help.” She said that effort seemed to produce a reduction in overdose deaths.

Heidinger said Mahoning County “started to see a decrease” in overdose deaths after the peer recovery specialists began their work, “and then the pandemic hit, and we jumped back up.”

The number of confirmed overdose deaths was 103 in 2019 but rose to 140 in 2020. It rose again in 2021 with 161. “And we just started creeping it back down in 2022” with 152 deaths, she said.

erunyan@vindy.com