CINCINNATI — Since the Hamilton County Addiction Response Coalition (HC ARC) formed in 2015, a lot has changed.
Newton Police Chief Tom Synan is a co-founder of the coalition. He said preventing drug overdose deaths remains a challenge.
"The only thing predictable about drug supply at the moment is how unpredictable it is," Synan said.
Still, the work done by the HC ARC has led to a significant drop in overdose deaths over the past decade.
In 2017, overdose deaths in the county peaked at 570. Since then, the numbers have steadily dropped.
WATCH: Hear how the HC ARC is using local and state data to drive community outreach and support
Last year, there were 194 overdose deaths in the county, a record low under the coalition.
Still, Synan said there is always more work to be done.
“That is a person," Synan said. "We never forget that's a mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter that’s attached to that. It’s not just a number to us. So, it's still 194 too many."
Synan credits the drop to wider access to Narcan, increased community education and aggressive fentanyl disruption efforts from the Trump administration.
He said the coalition relies on local data to make its outreach more effective, including information from Hamilton County Public Health.
Synan said state data also helps guide those efforts.
He pointed to an Ohio dashboard that flags the risk of potential future drug poisonings. Synan said it gives the coalition another data point to investigate.
“We’re taking all of this information, we’re putting it out to our resources, hospital systems, other first responders," Synan said.
For some people, that outreach is life-saving.
That includes Amberah Ballinger, who said she struggled with drug addiction for 21 years.
“A lot of people don’t understand it’s just not that easy to stop," Ballinger said.
Ballinger said her struggle with addiction impacted her relationships in life.
“I just kept messing up," Ballinger said. "I messed up my family. My children don’t speak to me anymore.”
She said she hit rock bottom in 2022 when she went to jail for drug possession.
Ballinger said that's when the HC ARC Quick Response Team connected her with recovery support and transportation.
She said that support contributed to her recovery. She has now been sober for more than three years.
“Sometimes I look back and wish that I would’ve got it in my head that there is help out there, sooner," Ballinger said.
Ballinger said she encourages more people to reach out for help.
"Your life is worth fixing," Ballinger said. "You're worth it."
Synan said the fight against addiction is far from over.
He said he hopes stories like Ballinger's show how their data-driven efforts and continued outreach can help save lives.
“If we can fill those gaps in the system, that means we can better respond to people in need," Synan said.
You can learn more about the HC ARC and available resources by clicking here.
