ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – New data from Project Opioid shows a “historic” decline in overdose deaths across Central Florida.
“Central Florida as a whole has seen reductions in deaths that mirror the state numbers and mirror national trends,” Project Opioid Founder Andrae Bailey said. “In particular in Seminole County, Florida, with the provisional data supplied to project opioid, we project a 42% reduction in deaths from 2023 to 2024, which would be one of the greatest one-year reductions in deaths in Florida history.”
Project Opioid said there was a 7.3% decline in overdose deaths in Central Florida, with deaths in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties falling from a record high of 732 in 2021 to 682 in 2023. The organization said the local progress reflects broader trends, with CDC data showing a 1.5% decrease nationwide in 2023-the first decline in five years end a 5.9% drop statewide in Florida.
Bailey told News 6 they now know what works: removing the stigma around drug use, increasing penalties for those who deal fatal doses of illicit drugs and the widespread distribution of overdose reversal drugs like Narcan and Naloxone. Last year, Seminole County Sheriff’s Deputies administered 99 doses of Naloxone, which helped lower their overdose deaths.
“Nothing makes you feel better than seeing death in the eye and reversing the effects. It’s as close to having a magic wand as possible,” Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said. “I am so proud of our team because none of this would be possible without them.”
Lemma also partnered with AdventHealth to create a substance use program to help get people the assistance they need free of charge.
“That center, quite literally, is saving lives. People are being diverted to that center. Family members are dropping off their loved ones there, and they’re being cared for with the gold standard of treatment, medical-based treatment combined with cognitive behavioral therapy,” he explained.
These tactics are some of the ways the county is mobilizing to reduce opioid deaths and addiction. Another way people are helping is by sharing their stories. Alana Elliot tells News 6 Reporter Stephanie Rodriguez she was unaware of the help available for a long time, so she is ensuring others know what assistance they can get and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“How does it feel for you to be on the other side and be able to use your testimony to help other people?” Rodriguez asked.
“I feel lucky to be here especially knowing other people that I’ve known have not made it,” Elliot said.
For those who have lost people close to them to overdoses, seeing that the efforts are helping people encourages them to continue doing the hard work.
“It’s important because if I knew what I know now, or the resources, I feel like I could’ve helped him or my mother a lot,” Kayla Bruning, who lost the father of her son and grew up with a mother dealing with substance abuse, said. “I think that if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to save a lot of people. We already have.”
With roughly 100,000 Americans and close to 7,000 Floridians still losing their lives each year, Bailey said the crisis is far from over. He and his team plan to use the data they have collected and share it with others to try to get them on the decline.
"Where do we go from here to have deaths reduced across central Florida by 50%? What’s the next phase of this work inside of our corporate community? As we were asked today, billions of dollars are being spent, money coming from Big pharma, from the lawsuits, so much opportunity, a playbook that’s so clear: Expand Naloxone, make sure people get help in the jails, make sure if they leave a hospital and if they’ve overdosed, that they have clear treatment," he said.
“[If] we continue to answer those questions we will be the most successful community in Florida, maybe around America, at reducing deaths. One death is too many.”
“Take our playbook, take our policies. If you’re watching this broadcast back, if you’re sharing it on some social media feed, contact us. Take it, take our name off it, put your name on it and use it. The numbers showing that it actually works,” Sheriff Lemma said.
Project Opioid’s report coincides with a recent medical examiners' commission report from the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement, which found fentanyl-caused deaths fell 12% in 2023, and overall opioid-related deaths fell 10%.
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