JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Overdoses on medications such as Vicodin, OxyContin and morphine have skyrocketed over the past two years in northeast Florida, prompting City Hall to host a town hall meeting Thursday night to discuss the opioid crisis.
Three people admitted to their struggles with addiction at the meeting, illustrating the recent and troubling trend.
"When I face difficulty, today I see it as an opportunity," said Richard Preston, who used to be addicted to opioids. "Mr. Chairman, council members, Mr. Mayor, concerned citizens of Jacksonville -- this is our opportunity. We need to be the hope for others when they can’t hope for themselves."
The meeting was led by City Councilman Bill Gulliford.
"We will attempt to accomplish three things today -- (to) raise awareness of the problem, discuss prevention practices and opportunity, then seek direction toward solutions," Gulliford said. "It will not be easy but we have no choice. The trend tells us that."
As for the trends pointed out during the community conversation that took place in the council chambers, officials said in the Medical Examiner’s District, drug deaths in 2016 climbed in Clay County by 63 percent.
In Hamilton County, deaths were up by 75 percent, in Duval County, it was 131 percent and in Nassau County, the area saw a spike of 133 percent.
Jacksonville Fire Rescue calculated the financial impact of responding to overdose calls.
Transporting 1,903 overdose victims in 2015 cost $1.8 million -- or $1,895,388 to be exact.
Transporting 3,156 overdose patients last year cost $3.1 million -- or $3,143,376 to be exact.
City leaders said things must change in order for the downward spiral to stop.
"But as a substance-abuse prevention coalition, we focus on environmental strategies," said Susan Pittman, the founder of the Safe and Healthy Duval Coalition. "We look at things that worked in other communities. We are focused on population-level change."
One of the people sharing a personal story said he’d sunk to the bottom. Change came when he realized he was insane, and that his sobriety could provide hope to others in pain or addicted to painkillers.
There were no clear steps forward were presented, but one woman said she hopes people just start paying attention to their loved ones a little more.
"When you go home and think about what's happened today, we can all make a difference, but we all have to come together as a community," Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Valarie Rao said. "And we have to decide, how are we going to resolve this issue? It's not going to go away."