‘My sister would still be here’: Alabama drug overdose deaths drop, Narcan access improves

By Ayron Lewallen

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    BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (WVTM) — New data from the Jefferson County Department of Health shows drug overdose deaths are down from 2023 to 2024.

According to the Department of Health, 165 fewer people died of drug overdoses in 2024 than in 2023. Julie Ray with ROSS Recovery Center believes that the decline in numbers is largely because of Narcan and fentanyl test strips, and over the past few years, these life-saving measures have become more accessible.

“This medication — it does save lives — and of course, the statistics show that it does,” Ray said.

Like Ray, Kyle Berman battled addiction as well. He’s lost 22 people to a drug overdose, one of those people being his younger sister. He was even close to losing his oldest sister because of an overdose just a month ago. He’s happy to see the numbers decline, but he feels that doesn’t mean it’s time to “let off the gas.”

“80,000 deaths,” Berman said. “That’s a lot. It’s not 110,000. That’s 80,000, and that’s not a number. 80,000 people. 80,000 families were affected. A lot of those people were mothers, fathers, children, brothers, and each person that is related or close to them is affected.”

Ray estimates that since last year, Ross Recovery has given out more than 2,000 Narcan kits and 3,000 fentanyl test strips.

Berman told WVTM 13 he’s working on a Narcan community responder network. It involves an app that will alert users who are willing to respond to a drug overdose if one happens. He hopes this will help cut down on response times. He’s also developing a wearable overdose detection device and alert system. He hopes to partner with Garmin to make the app compatible with the company’s devices.

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