Opioid overdoses are declining across the DC region. What’s behind the trend?

It s been over two years since a large group gathered outside Wakefield High School holding colorful signs They had messages in both English and Spanish hoping to show assistance to students at the Arlington Virginia school Selected hoped for increased defense and new rules The event came days after Sergio Flores a pupil at the school was suspected to have overdosed in a school bathroom in early He later died The matter prompted Arlington Constituents Schools leaders to change their approach in response to a troubling rise in youth overdoses They allowed students to carry Narcan the opioid overdose reversal medication and emphasized to students just how dangerous substance use can be It s been a inadequate years since school districts across the D C region started hosting population meetings having teachers and other staff trained in how to administer Narcan and educating students about the dangers of opioids and other drugs at a younger age Now overdoses among young people appear to be falling according to a WTOP analysis of local facts The global altitude of this emergency has really affected so various people that students in our classrooms are going to know somebody who s been affected by the opioid predicament explained Jenny Sexton a substance abuse counselor in Arlington Residents Schools So helping them understand the figures and how that connects them to the reality of this happening right in their hometown That approach has produced positive results There were juvenile overdoses two of which were fatal in Arlington in according to police input There were two overdoses overall both nonfatal last year As of this summer there haven t been any in Staff members in Arlington are trained on administering naloxone the opioid overdose reversal medication and students hear about substances as young as third grade The division hosts population presentations and distributed Narcan to parents in drop-off lines twice last year at high schools The biggest challenge Sexton reported was getting people not to fear Narcan The initial concern was causing harm to someone Sexton disclosed What if I hurt somebody by giving it to them Or what if it doesn t work Am I liable for that ' Nearby Fairfax County is reporting similarly positive trends There weren t any fatal overdoses among kids and younger last year down from five in There weren t any overdoses that occurred during school hours or school-sanctioned engagements last year either compared to six during what the district considered its peak year However it remains a challenge In a message to families last week superintendent Michelle Reid explained a aspirant in the West Springfield neighborhood died of an overdose outside of school It s still a obstacle in the sense that there are still youth who use fentanyl and fentanyl continues to be the primary opioid responsible for fatal and nonfatal overdoses in Fairfax County noted Michael Axler Fairfax County Residents Schools director of intervention and prevention services However holistically we re definitely seeing that fewer youth are being impacted by fentanyl certainly in the calendar year compared to Related stories Northern Va students launch website to encourage discussion about controversial topics Leave our kids alone Schools reopen in DC with parents on edge over Trump s armed patrols We re with them DC students head back to school amid Trump s law enforcement surge Virginia s largest school district keeps naloxone in every school AED cabinet and clinic and Axler revealed there are expanded healing options for young people All staff including athletic coaches and trainers and measure personnel are trained to administer naloxone and school leaders helped parents learn how to talk to their kids about the sensitive issue We dependably have to remember that we re dealing with people and so if we say we ve reduced it by there s still a percentage who are being affected by it Axler announced Meanwhile it s been over two years since a cluster of suspected overdoses involving Loudoun County Society Schools students prompted Gov Glenn Youngkin to issue an executive order on the subject The move outlined a time requirement for school systems to notify parents of a suspected overdose In there were juvenile overdoses in the county according to sheriff s department statistics In there were six So far this year there have been two including one fatal overdose In Loudoun students hear from families who have lost loved ones to an overdose All staff are trained to administer Naloxone and students can carry it with a parent s permission The district boosted the number of novice assistant specialists who have an expertise in substance use and assessment and boosted parent engagement It was coming in here manufactured and kids weren t realizing what they were getting disclosed Jennifer Evans Loudoun County schools director of novice mental wellness services And I do think the pharmaceutical companies have a role in that and what they were prescribing or how much they re prescribing and families have a role in that locking up medication so kids can t get to it So there s so several layers to that but I do think there was a lack of information about fentanyl out there In D C there have been deadly overdoses among all ages in the last months compared to in the previous according to evidence from the Office of the Chief Anatomical Examiner Ginny Atwood co-founder of the Fairfax-based Chris Atwood Foundation stated naloxone becoming available over the counter and improved access to healing for opioid-use disorder have likely helped contribute to the declines A lot of times if somebody revives a friend they re not going to the state to summary the overdose reversal So we really truly don t have a very good idea of how multiple people are surviving overdoses behind closed doors Atwood explained It s still a matter Atwood declared It s still something we should be talking about In Part of WTOP s Fighting Fentanyl series a couple from Fairfax County speaks out after losing their son to an overdose Source