THANK GOD –                                                                                    

Dec. 27, 2024 – Overdose fatalities in Brown County decreased by 73% between 2023 and 2024; the result of increased efforts to address fentanyl and other drugs in the community, County Executive Troy Streckenbach said.

In 2021, 69 people in Brown County died from drug overdoses, with more than half involving fentanyl. It was the deadliest year in the past seven years for overdoses, almost tripling the number of overdoses in just three years from 24 deaths in 2018.

In response to the growing crisis, on Sept. 1, 2022, Streckenbach declared fentanyl a community health crisis in the county. The declaration marked the beginning of dedicated plans from several agencies to rid fentanyl from the community.“Some of these children, they had no idea,” Nick said. “They were either hearing about it from a friend or they saw it on social media, and they thought it was something that was innocent. They didn’t realize that a pill from somebody else could contain fentanyl.”

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