Monroe County launches initiative to combat overdose crisis

MONROE COUNTY – Monroe County is taking new measures to address the overdose crisis. County Executive Adam Bello announced the launch of the “Overdose Fatality Review” initiative on Monday.

“Despite aggressive efforts on the part of many government agencies and community organizations, there are still too many people dying from overdoses – be they opioids, fentanyl, or combinations of narcotics and other drugs,” said Bello.

The OFR team will be made up of representatives of public and mental health care, public safety
agencies, social service providers, and the community, and will meet monthly to confidentially
review specific overdose cases.

Along with identifying system gaps in services and missed opportunities for prevention and education, there will be a focus on the County’s underserved populations (immigrants, LGBTQ+, deaf, and hard of hearing) who may require targeted and specialized interventions.

Bello also announced the formation of the OFR’s Governing Committee, which is comprised of senior-level leadership of city and county agencies, health systems, and community partner organizations. The Governing Committee is responsible for setting priorities, providing resources for implementation, and setting priorities, and setting a framework for accountability based on the recommendations of the OFR working team.

“Rather than making assumptions about causation or taking data from other communities, the OFR will look at individual overdose cases in Monroe County,” Bello said. “It will identify gaps in service, it will create strategies to improve intervention programs, and will prevent future overdose-related deaths.”

The initiative is supported by a $1.6 million U.S. Department of Justice grant.

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