What’s behind the startling spike in Gaston County youth overdoses?
GASTON COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – First responders in Gaston County are seeing an alarming increase in the number of children overdosing.
The county is on track for a 75 percent increase in youth overdoses by the end of this year if current trends continue.
So far in 2024, emergency crews have responded to 43 overdose calls involving patients 17 and younger. That’s the same number they responded to among that age group for all of 2023.
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“It’s shocking,” said Melanie Lowrance, program administrator with Community Support Services. “It’s not only shocking for us. It is for the community as well.”
It’s a trend many Gaston County first responders haven’t seen in their careers.
“When I first started, overdoses were not very prominent but over the course of my career, yes, we’ve seen these numbers increase,” said Capt. Brandon Miller with Gaston County Emergency Medical Services.
As someone who responds to these overdose calls, Miller knows how hard they can be.
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“You kind of automatically connect that back to your own children or even nieces and nephews, so it makes it a little more challenging,” he said. “It sticks with you. You constantly worry, can that happen to my children?”
It’s happening to children younger and younger. In Gaston County,16-year-olds account for the most youth overdoses this year. The second highest age group is two-year-olds.
“We believe that is because of the access youth have, the two-years-olds, have to unsecured drugs and they are accessing them that way and not really know what they’re taking,” said Lowrance.
For the teens, many know they’re taking drugs but don’t know what’s in them.
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“The availability is out there and it’s easily accessible,” said Miller. “A lot of people just don’t understand what they’re getting into when they make those purchases or even just exchanges out in the street.”
It’s why county leaders are focused on prevention and early intervention. Part of that is getting into schools, educating students and making them part of the solution.
“We know the youth are the ones who are going to be the ones in the best position to tell us what will be the most impactful with them and their peers,” said Lowrance.
The county’s numbers of overdoses and overdose deaths in adults are down. Leaders said they believe that’s thanks to increased access to Narcan.
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