Opioid overdoses continue to plague communities throughout the country and places like Erie County are seeing alarming increases in different communities.

“I can grab this whole thing,” said Antonio Estrada, a peer navigator for the Erie County Department of Health, as he picked up a plastic bin.

It’s Tuesday, which means Estrada is getting ready to hit the streets with precious supplies.

“We are preparing for curbside outreach,” he said. “Narcan, condoms, test strips, safe injection kits.”

The aim is to get life-saving supplies in everyone’s hands.

“Heroin now is fentanyl. Fentanyl is in the cocaine, is in the crack," Estrada explained. "If it continues going on this way, the number of deaths will surpass the number of last year's numbers and we are trying very hard to prevent that from happening.”

In Erie County, not only are deaths going up, but there’s a shift in which groups are impacted.

According to the Erie County Medical Examiner's office, deaths among the Black community saw the biggest increase, from 10% of overdoses in 2018 to 28% in 2022.

Older communities are also seeing an increase. A shrinking number of those under 30 are overdosing. That’s shifting to those over 40. The biggest jump is seen in the 60-plus community, from 5% in 2015 to 18% so far in 2023.

“We take quite a few bags down,” Estrada said as he loaded a cart up.

That increase in deaths is why the DOH's work is so important. They have a whole team to help out.

“We have to be together in it,” said Cheryll Moore. She serves as a medical care administrator and the director of the opioid task force.

“We're reaching people we probably never would talk to. They are pop-ups on the spot where people already gather," Moore explained. "We're not asking people to come to us. We're coming to see them.”

They not only give people Narcan to help avoid tragedy, but test strips to try and prevent encounters with fentanyl to begin with.

“Stimulants, party drugs, cocaine, molly, all the things that we call party drugs that people use socially, these things need to be tested," Moore said. "You need to know what you’re getting into.”

“This will be our substance that we're going to test today,” said Jeffrey Brylski, another peer navigator with the Erie County Department of Health, as he held up a small bag.

It's 15 minutes that could save a life.

“What we tell them to do so they don't have to waste any is to take their substance, put it in an empty bag. So they can still have their stuff that they need. And now [...] we could tell them to test the empty bag,” explained Brylski.

All you need is a bit of water, a test strip and time. If two lines appear, it’s not fentanyl.

“[To] spread awareness and just do harm reduction in the city and let people know what they're doing,” added Brylski.

This team will keep going every Tuesday and at pop-up spots, trying to make a difference.

“Hopefully we are decreasing the number of deaths. That is our ultimate goal," said Moore. "So that we don't lose any more of our friends.

All of these items are given out for free.

Health Department employees make sure to take their time and explain what they’re offering and why, to try and same as many lives as possible.