Substance abuse groups share what the recent trend means and what more work needs to be done.
Overdose deaths around have fallen significantly from last year, a positive sign in the effort to battle opioid addiction.
According to the CDC, overdose deaths are down by roughly 10% from 2023.
And the dip is even better in Connecticut: 546 people died from overdoses through June, a drop of 152 from the same time last year.
That’s a drop of 21.7%.
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“I am so happy to see this, that overdose rates are down,” Dita Bhargava, a board member with the United Way of Connecticut, said.
Bhargava knows the pain that addiction can cause on families. Her son, Alec, died from an overdose on his 26th birthday.
That inspired her to get involved in advocacy. She’s happy to see the numbers come down, but said the work is far from over.
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That’s because experts say the drop in overdose deaths doesn’t necessarily mean a similar dip in substance abuse.
“In Connecticut, really, it’s been a lot of mix of public health campaigns or harm reduction organizations,” University of New Haven professor Karle Minges said.
Advocates said the dip is more the result of lifesaving measures for people who overdose, but addiction remains a serious problem.
“Are we winning the war on addiction? By no means,” Connecticut Harm Reduction Coalition Executive Director Mark Jenkins said.
He said the drop in deaths show things like harm reduction – the practice of providing safe environment for substance users – and the increased use of life saving reversal drug naloxone are working.
But the state and federal government need to provide more funding for treatment options, including both medication and in-patient therapy.
Sen. Matt Lesser, (D - Middletown), believes this is an issue state lawmakers will make a priority next year.
“Look, this is a problem all across Connecticut and even the wealthiest towns in the state are dealing with the opioid crisis, we’ve got to do what we can,” said Lesser, who co-chairs the legislature’s Human Services Committee.
Despite the need for help, advocates said the drop in deaths is a victory.
“Really, that’s part our goal,” Jenkins said. “That's why we exist.”
Bhargava said saving someone’s life gives them another chance at recovery. She believes her son would have eventually found a path to sobriety had he survived.
“Yes, people relapse, but there's so many people who end up in a good place and we need them,” she said.
