Jefferson County released an alert earlier this week of multiple overdoses.

Oneida County isn't immune to the opioid epidemic either.

Dozens of Oneida County Opioid Task Force members met Wednesday, talking about their new approach, and an awarded $600,000 two-year grant.

After collecting data from their Overdose Response Team, the task force is restructuring.

Four subgroups are being created and will continue to be overseen by a steering committee.

"It's retooling. It's something that we go through all the time with different structures, and that's why it's so important that we get this group together because these are all the people throughout the community who deal with it," said Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente.

The Task Force will now include subgroups made up of prevention, recovery and treatment enhancement teams, as well as the Overdose Response Team.

"This is not something that we've put on a shelf and announced just as a point that we've been tracking data. This is something that each and every day we're dealing with," Picente said.

Oneida County Opioid Task Force members said it'll take more than one course of action to solve the problem, but collaboration, they believe, is a step in the right direction.

"The collaboration of multiple agencies is powerful as opposed to each agency doing their own thing and attempting to think they know what the problem is," said the Oneida County Public Health Director Phyllis Ellis.

The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office is also fighting the epidemic.

They're hosting free public overdose response training on December 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

It's at the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office Training Facility.

To register, contact Julie Piascik at 315-253-3991 or by email at jpiascik@cayugacounty.us.