Sadly, we have gotten used to reporting at the end of the year that drug overdose deaths in Bartholomew County have set a record. We reported it this year, we reported it last year, and we reported it the year before that.
This year, we broke this tragic record before it was even Halloween. Around that time, Coroner Clayton Nolting told The Republic that 35 people had died of drug overdoses this year, and at that rate, the number could rise to about 42 by year’s end. This compares with 33 fatal overdoses last year and 31 in 2020.
The numbers continue to grow because cheap and deadly fentanyl has supplanted or been cut into many street drugs or phony knockoffs of prescription opioids. Local officials have said virtually every fatal overdose has at least traces of fentanyl.
In editorials on this page, we have urged the devotion of more resources to substance abuse treatment, and this is an area where local, state and federal money has never been enough to sufficiently address the needs in our, or virtually any, community.
At the root of everything, this is a human issue. Every death is far much more than a statistic. It’s a son or daughter, mother or father, sister or brother or friend.
And yet there was news last week that at the same time as the number of local residents losing their lives continues to grow ever higher, so does another number: those who want to save their own lives.
Dr. Kevin Terrell, medical director at Community Regional Health’s Treatment and Support Center, told The Republic’s Andy East that the center he oversees, also known as TASC, “currently has nearly 390 active patients who are seeking treatment for substance use disorders.”
Terrell said that figure was “the largest number of patients that we’ve ever had,” and he frankly described why. “Many of our new patients come in stating they’re here for treatment because they don’t want to die.”
Many of the people seeking treatment know people who have died from drug addiction, and they are doing what they can to save themselves. It’s not an easy thing to do, but the numbers speak for themselves.
The question that we as a community must ask of ourselves is this: What are we willing to do to help those who ask for help in breaking from the bondage of addiction?
One of the first things we must do is understand that help is available in our community. And we must be willing to do all we can to get help to people who are asking for help, including directing people to available resources.
TASC is one example, and as Terrell said, “We are appreciative of everyone who directs patients to us. … We are always open to new patients.”
Likewise, the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress of Bartholomew County’s Hub at 1531 13th St. in Columbus offers a range of services from treatment and recovery meetings to potentially life-saving Narcan that can be administered in the event of an overdose.
Further, we must understand unequivocally that there is no stigma in seeking help to overcome addiction.
Let us resolve in the new year to do all we can to reduce the number of people who either live with addiction or die from it.
