PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Data from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office shows U.S. 19 is a hotspot for opioid overdoses. On average, one in five overdoses in Pasco County are now fatal, with fentanyl fueling the crisis.
RELATED: Pasco County opioid survivors, family members speak out as 1 in 5 overdoses are now fatal
The I-Team joined the sheriff's office's Behavioral Health Intervention Team (BHIT) as it proactively passed out Narcan, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses, to communities in need.
“I’m just stopping by to give you some more supplies just in case," Cpl. Ricardo Ortiz told a woman working the front desk at a Pasco County hotel, handing over several boxes of Narcan.
The Behavioral Health Intervention Team was formed three years ago, growing from six to 16 detectives, to connect people with mental health and substance abuse resources.
In the first six months of 2021, the medical examiner district covering Pasco and Pinellas counties reported more fentanyl deaths than any other part of the state. The numbers have continued to climb.
“It’s getting out of control. Absolutely out of control," Ortiz said.
The sheriff's office is seeing more than 100 overdoses a month.
The Behavioral Health Intervention Team represents a shift in the way the sheriff's office addresses the ongoing opioid crisis — from arrest to resources. The goal is to visit with every overdose survivor within 24 hours of their overdose.
“We can get them services as soon as that day," Ortiz said. “The breakthrough with this program is to gain that trust and them have someone to count on. Believe it or not, it may be a cop all kitted up like this, but we’re actually there to help them. They know that.”
Ortiz and Detective Justina Juliano brought Narcan to a homeless encampment off U.S. 19. It was there a young woman with her dog came out to talk with the ABC Action News I-Team. She told Det. Juliano she's been living in the camp for about a month.
The I-Team agreed not to show her face or use her name for safety concerns.
“I’ve recently, about a year ago, lost my best friend," she said, showing the I-Team a blue heart necklace she wears in his memory. It says, "Forever in my mind, always in my heart."
She said he passed away from snorting fentanyl. Fentanyl is stronger than heroin and often laced into other drugs.
“Your first time could be your last time," the woman's fiancé told the I-Team. “I’ve witnessed a lot of people die.”
When the I-Team asked if those individuals knew what they were taking, he said, “Nobody knew."
He then opened up about his own struggle with addiction.
“I’ve been doing it about a year now," he said, referring to fentanyl. "I still feel like I have a strong enough willpower to get off, you know? I just feel like I’m not ready. At the time."
He is also currently homeless, living in the encampment, and said it scared him to see people around him dying.
"I would have pictured by now I’d already be dead," he said. "I’m really surprised I’m not, to be honest."
White men accounted for 63% of overdose victims in 2022, according to Pasco Sheriff's Office data.
Captain Toni Roach said the team's goal is to connect people to community resources before it's too late. The sheriff's office has partnerships with BayCare Behavioral Health to help with medication-assisted treatment, like Suboxone, and the nonprofit The Hope Shot, which is people in recovery helping others for peer support.
When asked if they're seeing an impact, Roach said, "We’re not looking at 90% success rate, but when you look at an individual person who’s experienced the addiction getting on the road to recovery, having a sustainable lifestyle, getting a job, reconciling with their spouse, getting their children back from the state services, that’s the real win.”
Those wins start with a first step. Before leaving the homeless camp, Ortiz and Juliano handed out water, sweatshirts, backpacks full of supplies, and a toy for the young woman's dog, in addition to Narcan.
"If you or anybody you know back there wants some help, call us, ok?” Ortiz said.
Ortiz said it's those interactions that give him hope.
"Now they know why we’re here," he said.
Outside of the Department of Health in Pasco County, on Little Road, a sign flashes to all cars driving by: "SAVE A LIFE NARCAN AVAILABLE HERE". The lifesaving medication is available at health departments across the state for free, no appointment necessary, through a program that began late last year.
Click hereto find a Narcan provider near you.
