GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The number of overdoses in Gwinnett County has spiked, according to the police department on Tuesday. Now they want people to know about resources in their area to help save lives.
Gwinnett County Police Department said officers have seen 41 overdoses in the last 18 days. Police are reminding Georgians that when a person overdoses from "recreational, illegal or illicit drugs" it is a life-threatening emergency.
Overdose disparities
Gwinnett County's alert comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed overdose death rates have disproportionately impacted people of color. CDC officials recently released data from 2020, revealing death rates increased 44% in the Black community and 39% in the American-Indian community. Overdoses increased about a quarter for those who identify as white.
Officials explained the rise in overdose deaths could be linked to economic stressors like not having insurance, not having access to recovery treatments in Black and brown communities, or educational factors like not knowing how deadly opioids and fentanyl can be.
Addressing increasing overdoses
Gwinnett County agencies along with Navigate Recovery Gwinnett are working together to chip away at these stressors and increase community awareness.
"I think it's very prevalent in Gwinnett," Rachel Burns, a grant writer with Navigate Recovery, said about the increasing presence of fentanyl. "I think people just don't realize either, one, what they're getting, or two, they're seeking it out and they just might do a little bit too much."
Navigate Recovery President Farley Barge added that overdoses may seem more prevalent because there's more emphasis on tracking and treating them.
"About this time a year ago, we didn't have the tracking mechanisms in place," Barge said. "So we can actually see what's happening in real-time based on the response rates of first responders. So that's really, I think, what's showing us what we anecdotally knew, or felt we knew was happening all along."
Hideshi Valle, the public information officer with Gwinnett County Police Department, explained that law enforcement works within the mechanisms Barge relies on. It begins with the health department tracking overdoses and breaking down data on the different types of opioids found in an area and what the overdoses are linked to, and hospitals play a part with a glance at patient information.
"So they're able to track (the) true value of what's going on in the streets," she said.
However, Valle emphasized that it's not just a health issue, but an issue for the overall community.
"It's affecting everyone, not just Gwinnett County," she said, adding that's why it will take a community effort to lower the number of overdoses the department is coming across.
Do not be afraid to call for help if someone is overdosing, she said. Georgia's 911 Medical Amnesty and Expanded Naloxone Access Law protects the victim and caller from being arrested, charged or prosecuted.
"That is the first line of defense -- getting medical assistance there," Valle said.
Community resources
Officials also said Naloxone HCIor NARCAN could be used while waiting for first responders. That's why advocates are working to teach more people how to use NARCAN.
"It's an opportunity to save a life," Blake Clark, a program manager with Navigate Recovery, said. Clark's line of work includes him checking on people hospitalized after an overdose and providing resources following the medical scare.
"That's what these NARCAN trainings allow us to do -- familiarize people with what we do," he said.
Clark shared that NARCAN is available at no cost to anyone within the community that needs it or wants it. Training to use NARCAN is offered with Navigate Recovery at 52 Gwinnett Drive, Suite A in Lawrenceville every Saturday at 10 a.m. To get more information about that program, contact 678-743-1808 ext. 115.
"Our idea is to flood the community with NARCAN so that we can just save as many lives as possible," Clark said.
Navigate Recovery advocates added other resources to consider are: fentanyl testing strips and free recovery coach sessions for individuals and families that are impacted by addiction and daily meetings.
"These are opportunities for individuals to just learn more about recovery and how they can change their lives," Clark said.
For more information about Navigate Recovery and the resources it offers, visit its 'How We Help' section on its website.