Pastor Lance Rhoades, of Tree of Life Open Bible Church in Brookline, has been distributing free Narcan nasal sprays to prevent overdose deaths in his community, and joined a study led by the Program Evaluation Research Unit, which showed that communities that work together to prevent overdoses have seen a 30% reduction in overdose deaths.

The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated the lives of people struggling with substance use disorder, which has been accelerated by factors like increasing rates of anxiety, depression, social isolation, work from home orders, high rates of unemployment and housing instability, as the CDC reports a record number of over 87,000 overdose deaths between September 2019 and September 2020, while organizations are adapting to provide mobile medicine sites, food, masks, rental assistance, and virtual support groups.

A woman in Homewood, who lost her daughter to an overdose, has been handing out bags filled with fried chicken, recovery pamphlets, and Narcan, but the pandemic has made it harder for those suffering from addiction to get help due to social distancing, canceled support groups, and fewer people attending virtual recovery meetings.

The South Pittsburgh Opioid Action Coalition is holding a community resource fair called “Coming Together to End the Epidemic” tonight at Tree of Life Open Bible Church. The event will feature 20 organizations that help those affected by the opioid epidemic and is open to anyone living with addiction, affected by a relative’s addiction, recovering from drug use, or concerned with the epidemic. Dinner and childcare will be provided. The South Pittsburgh neighborhoods have been hit hard by the opioid epidemic since 2015, with numerous overdoses occurring in the area.