SAN ANTONIO — More money is headed for Bexar County to help save lives as the opioid epidemic continues to kill people here.
The UT Health San Antonio is working with community partners to make sure they get as much emergency medicine into the hands of people who need it as fast as possible.
Kat Roman is the Harm Reduction Liaison for a local nonprofit that provides free health services for the needy.
Yanawana Herbolarios is just one local group that distributes free kits to help those suffering from overdoses.
Roman said they help people from all walks of life and the need for more resources is always growing.
“As our social climate continues to evolve the way that it is, more people are finding themselves pushed to use substances for some reason or another,” Roman said.
Roman said while many may associate opioid use with people who are unsheltered, they are finding all kinds of people reach out for help.
“It's not just our houseless relatives. It is also our neighbors, our bosses, our co-workers, our friends, our family members," Roman said, adding “Whether it's to treat chronic pain, or because they don't have access to therapy, whether it's because of trauma they have experienced as a child or an adult.”
Roman said an added challenge is that street drugs are now often unpredictable combinations of chemicals that can do more damage than ever before.
“We're seeing that the substances are getting stronger and more poisonous, which means people are taking more damage and it's more harmful to them and so they're needing more medical care as well,” Roman said.
The UT Health program that provides supplies delivers doses of state-funded drugs they say are saving thousands of lives across Texas, with more than 700,000 doses shared since 2018.
Dr. Lisa Cleveland is a professor in the School of Nursing who administers the MoreNarcanPlease program.
Cleveland said a program approved by the Texas legislature is now adding millions more in funding for the next two years.
In addition to the direct aid of medication, which can be requested online, Cleveland said they are also involved in syringe exchange efforts and they have produced training videos to teach people who want to help how to react to crisis situations.
Cleveland said it’s important for people to know that rumors of drug shortages were just that, rumors, and that with more funding in the pipeline now, more help is on the way.
Roman said more help is always better.
“We don't have enough treatment centers. We don't have enough recovery programs. We don't have enough beds, so funding is always good because we always want more to be able to help people,” Roman said, adding "The need is critical because people always need help, so the more funding we get, the more resources we can provide. The more lives we can save."