PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia officials say 2020 is likely to be the deadliest year on record for drug overdose deaths.
City leaders blame the COVID-19 pandemic and the addition of the deadly agent fentanyl to more and more drugs.
The Kenney administration launched its Opioid Response Unit in February of 2020, just weeks before COVID-19 shut the city down.
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Director Noelle Foizen said that while much of the work continued, the pandemic was seen, here and nationally, as contributing to a rise in drug deaths.
"Due to extreme levels of unemployment, social isolation, reduced access to behavioral health treatment," Foizen explained.
The final number has not been determined yet, but it was close to 1,200 deaths by late fall.
Foizen said that a particularly troubling aspect of the increase is that it hit Black Philadelphians hardest.
Fatal overdoses were up 40% for Black residents. The Latinx community saw a 6% increase while fatal overdoses were down 7% among whites.
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The amount of deadly overdoses also grew in new communities.
"South Philadelphia and Kensington are still hotspots, but we’re seeing more overdoses now in West Philadelphia and North Philadelphia," Foizen said.
Foizen believes a lot of that involves the spread of deadly fentanyl from opioids to other drugs.
"It’s increasingly being found in new drug sources such as cocaine and methamphetamine," said Foizen.
The Opioid Response Unit is working on spreading the word about fentanyl, working with neighborhood advisory committees in neighborhoods where fatal overdoses are increasing.