They mainly take place in homes in residential areas, but they also occur at fast-food restaurants, gas stations, businesses, work sites, schools, libraries and transit facilities.
Local officials say intervention efforts are working but the death toll is still too high and could be reduced further if everyone would keep naloxone — the opioid-overdose medication commonly referred to as Narcan — on hand, like many people do with first-aid kits.
“I think it’s important for every household in Montgomery County to have (naloxone) because most people know somebody who is struggling with substance use, they just may not know it,” said Dawn Schwartz, Community Overdose Action Team (COAT) project manager. “You just never know where you’re going to be when you could possibly save a life.”
Paul Bertke, a Kettering resident whose stepdaughter, Tanis Spragg, died of a drug overdose in 2021, said so many drugs nowadays are laced with fentanyl and one pill or dose could contain lethal amounts of the powerful opioid.
“In this day and age, one time is all takes,” he said. “You never know. ... People aren’t trying to overdose.”
Positive trends
Drug overdoses happen frequently in Dayton. So far this year, the city has not gone more than about four days in a row without an overdose being reported to police, according to Dayton Police Department data.
But through the end of May, Dayton police recorded slightly more than 130 drug overdose incidents — which is down 38% from the same period in 2023.
Dayton police responded to 449 drug overdose incidents in 2023. That was a 21% decrease from 2022 (571 incidents).
Similar data was not available for all of Montgomery County, which is home to more than 30 cities, villages and townships.
Through the end of May, there have been about 64 overdose deaths in Montgomery County, which is down nearly 50% from the same time period in 2023, says preliminary data from public health officials.
Montgomery County saw 292 overdose deaths last year and 316 in 2022. Fatal drug overdoses peaked at 566 in 2017 but then fell dramatically the following year to 291.
Where it’s happening
Dayton police data show that most drug overdose incidents that officers respond to take place at residential properties in residential areas.
Overdoses happen at homes, apartments and vacant and abandoned residential buildings. They happen in Dayton’s poorest areas and in some of its more affluent areas.
Most overdose victims are white men, but community members of all ages, races and genders overdose and need assistance and treatment.
People have overdosed at a Speedway gas station on Huffman Avenue, a pancake house on Linden Avenue, a church on Hoover Avenue and at multiple McDonald’s restaurants in the city.
Dayton police have responded to overdoses at libraries, bank buildings, strip malls, industrial workplaces, shopping centers, senior living centers, a career tech center, schools, bars and markets.
The response
This year, Dayton police have responded to three overdose incidents at 4 S. Main St., which is the Wright Stop Plaza Transit Center in downtown Dayton.
Officials say this isn’t surprising considering the number of bus riders who catch a ride at the property.
About 10,000 people travel through the downtown bus hub on a daily basis, and the Greater Dayton RTA provides more than five million annual trips across the county every year, said Jessica Olson, director of communications and training with the RTA.
“There is arguably few other locations in the county with more daily interaction and travelers than Wright Stop Plaza,” she said.
RTA ambassadors are trained to call first responders whenever issues arise at the agency’s transit centers, whether it be an overdose or some other medical issue, Olson said.
Although RTA employees do not administer naloxone, the agency hires Dayton police officers to work shifts during peak activity times and officers carry the medication, which is used to reverse opioid overdoses, she said.
“Ultimately our role is to provide transportation services, and we leave it to the expert first-responders in our community to render aid whenever needed,” she said.
Dayton police this year also have responded to a couple of overdose incidents at the St. Vincent de Paul Shelter for Men, located on the 1900 block of Gettysburg Ave.
All staff at St. Vincent’s shelters have received training on the use of naloxone and there are overdose kits located throughout its facilities to provide rapid access for guests and staff, said John Hunter, director of shelter ministries with the nonprofit organization.
“If an overdose occurs, staff will respond accordingly until EMS/PD arrives,” he said.
St. Vincent de Paul served and sheltered more than 2,100 men in 2023 and more than 1,200 so far this year, Hunter said.
He said substance use addictions are fairly common among people experiencing homelessness, who often struggle with mental health issues and who try to self-medicate because they lack access to health care and treatment.
Everyone needs it
Local experts say the drop in drug overdoses in Dayton and the decline in fatal drug overdoses in Montgomery County indicate that intervention efforts are working.
Dayton police Major Christopher Malson said the police department has officers who are assigned specifically to focus on overdoses and problems related to drug abuse.
Dayton’s fire and police departments engage in outreach and prevention activities through a program called Get Recovery Options Working (GROW), said Brad French, assistant chief of the Dayton Fire Department.
“GROW program staff analyze data and trends regularly, and focus efforts where the most critical needs exist in our community,” he said.
Following an overdose, first-responders and other professionals knock on doors and try to educate overdose victims and other community members about treatment options, officials said.
Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County gets information about drug overdose patients from local hospitals.
A large group of local partners have worked collectively for years to connect people struggling with drug abuse to resources and services, said Schwartz, project manager with the Community Overdose Action Team.
COAT’s partners include law enforcement, hospitals, medical experts, fire and EMS agencies, the county coroner and other organizations.
Some of the lead partners are Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Montgomery County administration and Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services.
Schwartz said one reason fatal overdoses likely have declined is that naloxone is getting easier to access and the medication is now being distributed at many community events and is available at pharmacies across the region.
Families of Addicts, a local support group that’s also focused on drug addiction education, provides naloxone training the last Wednesday of every month, said Bertke, a volunteer with the group.
His 33-year-old stepdaughter, Tanis Spragg, died with fentanyl and cocaine in her system, leaving behind four children who are now being raised by Bertke and her mother and an another relative.
Bertke said drug addiction is a disease that’s extremely hard to overcome and it may take a lot of attempts and different approaches to get someone on the road to a successful recovery.
He said naloxone is important to ensure people with substance use disorder stay alive long enough for them to have a chance to get help and treatment.
He said it’s frustrating when other people disparage community members with drug problems by calling them “junkies” and acting like they aren’t worth trying to save.
“You hear people say, ‘Narcan, oh yeah, you’re just going to bring back a junkie — why even deal with it?’” he said. “That junkie is someone’s son, daughter, niece, nephew, mom, dad. If you can keep them around to get them the stability they need, work through their issues — it’s amazing some of the people that I’ve seen go through recovery in the last seven years and what they are today. I think they are some of the strongest people.”
Supplies, training available
Schwartz said community members are becoming more and more comfortable seeking out, requesting and using naloxone and other harm-reduction techniques.
Schwartz said she keeps a couple of doses of naloxone in her purse just in case. It can save a life.
“If you have to do a couple of doses — do that, do it responsibly, until EMT or fire or whoever can get there and take over,” she said. “It’s always important if you think it’s an overdose to use it because you may be extending that person’s life just long enough until the EMT can get there to take over the medical care.”
Community members can get free naloxone from Public Health.
Public Health also offers businesses and employers free naloxone boxes, and the agency also provides free training to teach workers how to administer the medication.
Officials said administering naloxone will not harm someone who does not have opioids in their system.
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