Editor's Note: The following story contains excerpts from WAER's public affairs show "Syracuse Speaks" which airs Thursday Feb. 1 from 2 - 3 PM. We're focusing on the opioid epidemic, how medical providers are trying to help, and if opioid lawsuit settlement funds are helping.
The ever-evolving opioid epidemic means the Onondaga County Health Department has to be ready to be ready to shift its programming and messaging at any time. Substance use initiative program coordinator Mariah Senecal-Reilly says listening to the people they serve can be an invaluable source of information.
“Having that relationship, having that trusting connection with somebody, they will be very forthcoming with us, that something is different," Senecal-Reilly said. "'We're seeing this. They're selling this in this area.' I honestly think that's the most important part of our work, is connecting with the population of people who are using drugs.”
Onondaga County Health Commissioner Doctor Katie Anderson there's always a challenge knowing what drugs are circulating.
“For example, someone may think today that there's that they're using heroin, but there's hardly any heroin to be found. It could be fentanyl and xylazine, and who knows what else is to come," Anderson said. "So keeping our fingers on the pulse of what's in our community and supporting people to be safe as they navigate, hopefully a path to their recovery and certainly staying alive through their drug use.”
The dark reality, though, is the community continues to see overdose deaths, mostly and increasingly related to fentanyl. Anderson says the county medical examiner’s office and center for forensic sciences can provide powerful data.
“What were the drugs that were found in their system?" Anderson said. "What were the levels of the drugs in their system, as well as testing drugs that are found on scenes at times. Also, testing people who are pulled over for DWI. So we have a lot of different sources of information about what's circulating in our community.”
