AtTAcK addiction launches a new statewide campaign to promote resources and reduce opioid use.
AtTAcK addiction received a $300,000 grant from the Delaware Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission for the campaign which Communications Director Jill Fredel says includes bilingual messaging at convenience stores, bus stops, and on social media.
The campaign launches amidst a recent spike in overdoses in the lower part of the state – Delaware State Police now reports 125 cases and five suspected overdose deaths in Sussex and Kent counties since April 26.
“The natural fear is that the surge is going to reach New Castle County," Fredel says. "And we want people to be aware. And it’s going to take a grassroots response.”
Fredel says a Delaware National Guard analysis of the drug involved in the latest spike is what she calls a “monstrous” mix – including xylazine and fentanyl.
“From the analysis done by the Delaware National Guard, it looks like just the world’s worst concoction of substances," Fredel says. "You have Quinine, which is a malaria drug, you have Xylazine, fentanyl, caffeine, and a benzo, and it’s just horrific.”
Fredel says the spike feels like a step back after the state recently reported the first annual decrease in overdose deaths in a decade, but adds the pattern is typical of an addiction epidemic.
“We saw it at the beginning, it was heroin, then it evolved to fentanyl, then it evolved to xylazine, and now we’re seeing this monstrous mix of substances, and we just have to get out ahead of it," Fredel says.
Fredel says the campaign message is “We’ve got you,” emphasizing the state’s 911 Good Samaritan Law, which protects the person making the call and the person in medical distress from being arrested, charged or prosecuted.
The campaign also encourages people to get trained to use Narcan and keep a kit on them, and to clean out expired or unnecessary medications from their homes.
If you or a loved one is suffering from addiction, call the Delaware Hope Line at 833-9-HOPEDE (833-946-7333), visit HelpIsHereDE.com, or contact atTAcK addiction at 302-365-5221 or info@attackaddiction.org.
