Over the last few months, many have been focusing on fighting the coronavirus, but the opioid epidemic is still ravaging our communities.

What You Need To Know

  • From January through March, 41 people died due to fatal overdoses, according to the Onondaga County Health Department.

  • The state is withholding 31% of its funding for addiction treatment services for the next few months.

  • More people are seeking mental health and addiction treatment, according to leaders of Helio Health.

  • Services are still available for those struggling.

Addiction and mental health services are losing state and federal funding, which could not come at a worse time, providers say. Patients are asking for more help, said Jeremy Klemanski, the president and CEO of Helio Health.

“They’re just struggling. They’re struggling with the isolation," said Klemanski. "They’re struggling with unemployment. They’re struggling with the anxiety of a potentially fatal virus in our community.”

Helio Health is at risk of missing out on millions of dollars. Over the next few months, the state is withholding nearly a third of funding from addiction treatment services. It's also keeping at least 20% from mental health services. If the state gets federal help, it will reimburse the service providers, Klemanski said.

“Were going to do our best to hold our own," said Klemanski. "We’ll burn through whatever reserves we have. And we’re going to try not to diminish services because this is an absolutely terrible time to cut services. We have a rising overdose rate in the counties that we serve.”

From January through March, there were 41 fatal overdoses in Onondaga County, according to the health department. That’s more than twice as many as the same time last year. With less funding for treatment programs, some say they are concerned the problem could get worse.

“The biggest concern is that parents, sons and daughters, best friends are going to be grieving the loss of someone because of an overdose because they were not able to get access to treatment. And that people will be needlessly dying,” said John Coppola, New York Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers Executive Director.

Helio Health says it has not cut any services. If you are struggling with substance abuse or mental health disorders, there are in-patient, out-patient and Telehealth options available.

If you aren't sure who to call, 211 can help put you in touch with the appropriate services.