The number of deaths related to heroin and opioid overdoses is rapidly soaring in Monroe County.
Data released this morning from the Monroe County Medical Examiner shows that in the ten county region served by her office, there were 206 deaths last year that can be solely attributed to the use of heroin, opioids, fentanyl or similar substances. The vast majority, 169 of the deaths, were in Monroe County
That's almost two and a half times the number of overdose fatalities in 2015, when 85 such deaths were reported.
"It is shocking, but it's not unbelievable, either, from what we're seeing every day out there,” said David Attridge, executive director of the grassroots organization Recovery Now NY. “In fact, I would place every dime I have on the fact that the 2017 numbers are going to be even larger."
Attridge and others, including Todd Baxter, the Democratic candidate for Monroe County Sheriff, want to know why it took the county so long to release the information. It was sent to media outlets in a news release less than a half hour before Baxter held a news conference to discuss the lack of publicly available data.
“Without necessary data, agencies are telling me they are having a hard time filing for grants for both prevention and treatment of the opioid epidemic,” Baxter said. “We are lacking the funds to save lives in Monroe County because we don’t have the hard facts and numbers.”
Attridge believes Monroe County isn't investing in enough programs to fight the opioid crisis.
"These numbers show mass casualties and we're hearing nothing,” he said. “We have a plan for the Ebola crisis and how many people died from that in this area? We even have a plan in case a plane crashes in Monroe County, and how many planes have crashed in Monroe County yet?
In a written statement, Monroe County Commissioner of Public Health Michael Mendoza said his department has known about the trend for some time and the information has guided their response to the crisis, which has included public Narcan training and work with the county's opioid task force.
Attridge wants Monroe County to release the latest figures for overdose deaths in 2017, even if it’s just an estimate, such as Erie County has done. "The amount of (overdoses), I have to imagine, with the Narcan saves, are huge, but yet nothing is being said,” Attridge said. “It almost feels like they don't know what to say so they'll just ignore it and it'll go away."
Recovery Now NY is planning a demonstration and rally outside the Monroe County Office Building on Friday morning. They will be displaying pairs of shoes representing those lost in the heroin and opioid epidemic.
