By Steven Goode
Journal Inquirer
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. 鈥� It鈥檚 taken some time 鈥� more than anyone would like 鈥� but New Britain officials are encouraged by what they see happening in the battle against opioid abuse and resulting deaths.
Through an initiative that includes training more people on how to administer the overdose-reversal drug Narcan and focusing more on social services to help those who need it, the city has seen a decrease in opioid-related deaths in the past few years.
Between January and September 2023 and January and September 2024, according to city officials, opioid-related deaths dropped from 43 to 21, a 51% decline.
鈥淲e set a goal in 2022 of reducing the death rate by 30%,鈥� New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart said. 鈥淭o reduce it by 50% in two years is remarkable.鈥�
But the road from where the city started to where it is now actually began in 2018, Stewart said.
鈥淲e started seeing an increase in deaths here in New Britain. There were personal stories that hit too close to home,鈥� she said, adding that the deaths weren鈥檛 confined to illegal drug use, but also included residents who were hooked on pain medications.
When Stewart started looking around and saw that Waterbury was having some success in combating opioid deaths, New Britain started its own task force and modeled it after the Brass City.
鈥淎nd then COVID happened,鈥� she said.
When the state came out of the pandemic in 2021, New Britain officials decided it was time to streamline efforts between town departments, combine efforts to address homelessness and the opioid crisis and make better use of social service providers.
They called the new program NB Recovers.
鈥淲e knew in 2018 that we weren鈥檛 going to be able to arrest our way out of this,鈥� Stewart said.
Different focus in fight against opioids
Out of those new and combined relationships, New Britain officials determined that the focus should be on training as many people on the use of Narcan to bring back those who overdose and to make sure that was plenty of it available. The city worked with local businesses, students, the health department, police, fire and EMS.
鈥淭he number is a direct reflection of that,鈥� Stewart said of the decline of opioid deaths. 鈥淲e doubled the number of Narcan kits in the last four years.鈥�
The city has also unveiled a 鈥渞ecovery navigators鈥� initiative that involves a trained EMT who also has social work skills and experience.
The goal of the position, which is funded by a state grant, is to have someone visit a person who has overdosed on opioids after the fact to try and connect them with an array of programs that could prevent the next overdose.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to prevent someone ending their life before you can save them,鈥� Stewart said.
Mallory Deprey, New Britain鈥檚 director of community services, said there are several key components to the program, including state grants, regular communication between community partners and the navigators鈥� efforts.
But, she said, the involvement of New Britain鈥檚 public school students shouldn鈥檛 be overlooked. More than 400 students have been trained to use Narcan over the past two summers and more are expected to be trained in the future.
鈥淚t really helped launch the program,鈥� Deprey said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like having a fire extinguisher. You have it but you hope you don鈥檛 have to use it.鈥�
Deprey said high school students will soon be visiting the city鈥檚 middle schools to help train students there once a week about using Narcan. They will also learn about the effects of vaping, she said.
Brass City revisited
Six years after New Britain started to model its overdose prevention program after Waterbury鈥檚, city officials there are still battling the opioid crisis, but are making progress.
Sam Bowen, chief for the health department鈥檚 prevention, harm and risk reduction section, said nonfatal overdoses are down 13% from 2023 and fatal overdoses are down 43% this year. The city has also dropped from second to third in the state in overdose deaths, Bowen said.
Bowen said the city now has three full-time recovery navigators who work on the city鈥檚 overdose response teams. And like other cities, Waterbury is focusing on education, distributing Narcan and other initiatives.
Asked about fentanyl in cocaine products, Bowen said 鈥淔entanyl is in everything.鈥�
The city is now trying to address the latest craze, xylazine, which comes with the side effect of causing dangerous infected sores and wounds.
To that end, the city has partnered with Yale University, which sends a mobile wound care unit/pharmacy to Waterbury five days a week to help treat wounds and provide needed medicine.
Trouble on the horizon?
Tina Tanguay, a public health nurse with the Bristol-Burlington Health District, said her organization has been participating with New Britain on its roundtables for the last few months in order to come up with some ideas of how to enhance its own efforts.
She said she has noticed that when there are spikes in overdoses in Hartford, the effect usually spreads down the Interstate 84 West corridor to New Britain and then Bristol.
One of recent those spikes, Tanguay said, is in cocaine overdoses because the drug has been laced with fentanyl.
Tanguay said she鈥檇 like to pursue the idea of recovery navigators at some point, but added that Bristol has several of its own programs designed to provide assistance to opioid users, including the mayor鈥檚 opioid task force, Bristol Eliminating Substance Use Together and the City of Bristol Recovery Alliance.
鈥淲hile the goal surrounding drug use is to prevent or stop use, we must recognize the path to sobriety is often bumpy,鈥� she said.
Hartford also participating
Through a grant program, Hartford鈥檚 American Medical Response team is providing an EMT/recovery support specialist to follow up with opioid users they believe could benefit from a variety of support and service programs, including links to inpatient/outpatient and individual services, connection with faith-based organizations, and resources for basic needs, food and housing.
鈥淚n this process, EMS teams and our in-house recovery support specialist work together to provide best possible outcomes for people who may be experiencing substance use, have experienced an overdose, and/or are looking to connect to services,鈥� said Jennifer Webb of Hartford AMR.
She said patients who meet certain criteria can be put into contact with a recovery support specialist.
鈥淥ur team can provide a non-judgmental approach to promote linkage to care for individuals who could benefit from support or services,鈥� she said. 鈥淥nce an individual is identified, the recovery support specialist provides a follow-up with individuals, typically within 24 to 48 hours.鈥�
Webb said AMR works closely with NB Recovers, as well as several Hartford organizations to promote best outcomes. Working together as a team has allowed them to identify gaps in care, expand the resource network and help capture accurate information about individuals who may utilize CT Transit between major cities.
鈥淥ur partnership with NB Recovers has been incredibly important. We have implemented some similar structures in how we connect to our community for follow-up, and as such, we have been able to make an impact for some of our most vulnerable community members,鈥� Webb said. 鈥淲e have also been able to decrease the volume of calls for high-complexity cases. We combine our field knowledge, lived experiences, harm reduction, peer support and education and data to make every effort to identify with each individual as they are, and meet them where they are at.鈥�
Still work to do
New Britain EMS Chief Patrick Ciardullo said while the reduction in deaths speaks volumes, there is still a long way to go in ending the cycle of overdoses to opioids.
鈥淭he number one goal is let鈥檚 stop the dying,鈥� Ciardullo said.
But he added that the first time someone is saved is not necessarily the last time they will need to be saved.
鈥淲e hope to see people getting their lives back together, but there are lapses. Sometimes it takes an individual time,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he ultimate goal is to see people in treatment and getting a second chance and the navigator is helpful.鈥�
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