BUFFALO, N.Y. — When Suzanne Nix's son started to struggle with addiction six years ago, there were little to few options for her family to turn to.

"Trying to find facilities and doing the leg work and researching places and going in front of courts and judges and begging for help" took up much of her family's time, Nix said.  

Fast forward and while the opioid crisis continues in Erie County, the number of opioid-related deaths here decreased in 2017, unlike most parts of the New York where the number of deaths are on the rise. 

"We were not going to keep our heads in the sand, people were dying," said Erie County Health Commissioner Gale Burstein. 

In 2017 Erie County reported 251 opioid-related deaths, a 17 percent drop from the year before.

Little more than halfway through 2018, there have been 52 confirmed deaths with 98 suspected deaths related to opioids in Erie County. That puts the area on pace for a lower year-end total than 2017.

The county's department of health was recently recognized as the Health Department of the Year by the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

 

 

 "Decreasing the number of deaths, getting more people into treatment, seeing less narcotic pain medication prescription which starts the path to addiction, we've been doing so much," said Burstein. 

More lives are being saved thanks to the efforts not just of the county, but groups like Save the Michaels of the World, where Suzanne Nix serves as the director of family support services.

She uses her family's first-hand experience with addiction to help the hundreds that reach out to the organization for help.

"If somebody calls us and says I'm having a problem, I need help, we will go pick them up and we have connections with addiction treatment centers. We place them into treatment," said Nix. 

Both Nix and Burstein agree that the next step is to continue treating those who suffer from addiction and curbing the stigma that comes with the disease.

"Every week we're seeing a number of suspected opioid overdoses so it's not over yet," said Burstein. 

"My son did not want to be that person. He did not want to struggle with this and at the end of the day they're still people, they're sick and they need help," said Nix.