ST. LOUIS — Already on a deadly run in recent years, the number of Blacks dying from drug overdoses here and in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County spiked 54% in the first half of 2020, setting off alarm bells among those who work in this space.
“These figures reflect what we are hearing from many of you on the ground: the overdose crisis has reached a new level and is an urgent state of emergency,†Rachel Winograd, who helps administer millions of dollars in opioid response grants in Missouri, wrote in an email Wednesday to stakeholders.
“The increases among Black males and females are devastating — particularly when we consider 2019 was already a record-breaking year for Black men,†she added. “This shows us how much our continued efforts are needed … as well as the need to develop new strategies and partnerships.â€
Between January and July, there where 343 overdose deaths overall in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, up from 260 for the same period in 2019, or 32%, according to preliminary data. Of the 2020 numbers, 179 involved African Americans, up from 116.
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Reached by phone Thursday, Winograd said the situation couldn’t be any worse.
“We are witnessing genocide of Black people in our region,†she said. “What is going to spur government and institutional leaders to act — with money, reallocation of funds, investing in the people who live and work in these hardest hit areas to bring them the resources they have always been asking for?â€
Missouri Department of Mental Health Director Mark Stringer said in a statement that his team has been planning a strategy since they recently received the “disturbing†news from ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
“When finished, it will be implemented as quickly as possible,†Stringer said. “The opioid epidemic has hit the African American community hard, especially in the time of COVID-19, and we will do all we can to help reduce these tragic overdose deaths.â€
An in-depth Post-Dispatch report in February explored the public health crisis in Missouri, where the rate of African American men dying of overdose more than doubled between 2015 and 2018 while the rate for white men rose slightly. By 2018, African American men were nearly three times as likely to die as white men.
Officials have said the eastern half of the state, particularly the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region, is driving the disparity. There are numerous theories, ranging from scarcity of state-funded treatment and recovery resources in African American areas to racism.
COVID, homelessness, opiates and gun violence "are the public health expression of systemic and structural racism,†said Dr. LJ Punch, who recently left a trauma surgeon position at Barnes-Jewish Hospital to run an antiviolence community health center that focuses on helping people recover from trauma.
Power4STL, the nonprofit organization founded by Punch, has a storefront at 5874 Delmar Boulevard and also does mobile outreach. They started out teaching wound care and have expanded into giving away naloxone, the overdose reversing drug commonly called Narcan. On Thursday, the group started a $150,000 annual state contract to ramp up efforts as a “prevention center.â€
“They need a holistic approach to their needs to be able to have better health outcomes,†Punch said of how to make a difference.
Drug overdose deaths in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and ºüÀêÊÓƵ County
Preliminary data, gleaned from ºüÀêÊÓƵ city and ºüÀêÊÓƵ County medical examiners and health departments, shows a spike in drug overdose deaths in the first six months of 2020, particularly among African Americans. Source: Missouri Institute of Mental Health.
January-July 2019 | January-July 2020 | Percentage change | |
---|---|---|---|
Total all races | 260 | 343 | 32% |
Black women | 30 | 45 | 50% |
Black men | 86 | 134 | 56% |
White women | 49 | 44 | -10% |
White men | 91 | 112 | 23% |