Annapolis overdose deaths doubled last year
In response, city planning to ‘ retool’ recovery efforts, expand Narcan program
Fatal overdoses more than doubled in Annapolis and increased by almost 20% in Anne Arundel County in 2020, a sobering sign of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on substance use prevention efforts across the county.
Early 2020 began with the promise of more money and resources deployed to continue driving down overall overdoses; however, the pandemic scrapped those plans. By summer, as public gatherings and community outreach events were shut down for months, Annapolis officials conceded the pandemic limited their ability to prevent overdoses and treat those who suffer from substance use disorder.
That remained true into the winter, and by year’s end, 24 people died of an overdose in Annapolis, and five more are pending lab results as of Friday, according to preliminary data from the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management. The toll exceeded the 13 such fatalities reported in 2019 in the city.
In response, the City of Annapolis is planning to “retool” its efforts in the new year, including prioritizing a citizen Narcan program and focusing on ensuring people in recovery can access services despite the pandemic, said Kevin Simmons, director of the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management.
Overall, overdoses rose from162 in 2019 to 201 in 2020, a nearly 25% increase, and the most in the last five years, city data shows. Opioids remain the leading cause of overdoses in the city with 137. Twenty- two overdose deaths were attributed to heroin or another opioid.
Another 28 people overdosed from PCP or amix of drugs. Thecause of 36 overdoses was unknown, city data shows, due in part to pending toxicology reports, officials said.
Black residents accounted for 99 overdoses, slightly more than the 91 reported among white people in 2020, a 38% increase froma year prior.
Overdoses among Black residents remained steady — up from 94 in 2019 — though the population is still overdosing at a rate disproportionate to their share of the city’s population, which is about 22%. White residents make up 54% of the city.
Of the 29 fatal overdoses, 16 were Black, 12were white and one was Hispanic.
Five of the fatalities were Black men 55 years or older, tied for most among a single race and age group with white men aged 25 to 34.
Ward 6 had 55, the highest concentration of overdoses. No other ward had more than 30. Ward 5 had the fewest with 11. Ward 4 was one of only two city wards that saw a decrease in overdoses compared to 2019. The other was Ward 8.
Overdoses were low before the pandemic arrived. In January, only six were reported, the fewest in a single month since July 2017, city data shows. Numbers then peaked in June and August with 25 each, booking- ending a 14- overdose June. In September, the total dipped to 24 and has steadily decreased with 21 in October, 17 in November and15 in December.
Anne Arundel County overdoses up 20%
Anne Arundel County saw similar increases to Annapolis. As of Dec. 29, 827 people overdosed in the county, 105 more than were reported in 2019. Lethal
overdoses rose from 126 in 2019 to 149 last year, an18% increase.
The leading causes of death were fentanyl, heroin or a mix of both, which accounted for 64% of fatal overdoses.
White males have the highest rate of fatal overdoses in the county, both in total and fatal, of any demographic, accounting for 10 per 1,000 of the population. Secondhighest was Black males with just over 7 per 1,000. White and Black females were 4.2 and1.2, respectively.
Citizen Narcan program
Behind Annapolis firefighters, the second- most common population to administer the life- saving overdose prevention medicine Narcan were citizens, Simmons said. Narcan administrations by police officers were third, he said.
Grant funding is expected to pay for expanding the program and hiring a community advocate to distribute more doses and train people to administer it. The city is expected to buy more supply and increase outreach, Simmons said.
“What that tells me is thatwe need to get more Narcan in the hands of citizens,” he said. “We want to support that in any way we can.”
Naptown Antidope Move( meant)
While the city officials eagerly await a widespread vaccine roll- out to allow life to start returning to normal, the city plans to hold virtual listening sessions to understand what people’s needs are moving forward.
Adetola Ajayi, African American Community Services Specialist in Mayor Gavin Buckley’s office, coordinates the Naptown Antidope Move( meant), an initiative founded in 2018 to host community events with food, music and art to connect residents with addiction resources. Typically, the events would offer face- to- face interaction for residents and opioid intervention teams.
But in 2020, with those in- person events on hold, the program pivoted to safer alternatives such as using virtual focus groups, a phone- based Narcan distribution network and distributing resources like Narcan and fentanyl testing strips at food drives, Ajayi said.
The group gave out about 200 Narcan doses by year- end, he said.
Once the weather warm sup and outdoor gatherings are permitted again, Ajayi hopes to restart outdoor activities.
Ajayi also hopes to use police diversion programs like the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, otherwise known as the L. E. A. D. Program, and Violence Intervention Program, to help bolster outreach efforts further.
Recovery programs
The city is in a “good place” when deploying resources for overdose prevention and treatment, including the county’s crisis response team, county- wide Safe Stations and recovery houses. Still, concern remains about longer- term recovery assistance, Simmons said.
The goal is to ensure Annapolis is a “recovery supportive city,” he said.
One way to address that is a program through the Annapolis Police Department that matches a licensed clinician with an officer trained in crisis response who follow up with people after they overdose. This and other programs are meant to provide a bridge from addiction to longterm recovery where people can access employment opportunities, financial literacy, mentoring programs and record expunge men ts, among others, Simmons said.