In 2023, Allen County reported 120 fatal overdose deaths, down from 154 in 2022 and the lowest number since 2016. The Fort Wayne Police Department attributes this decrease to their Hope and Recovery Team, a collaboration with community organizations to get people into treatment.
FWPD captain Kevin Hunter said detectives in the program are trained to meet with people and families who’ve experienced non-fatal overdoses to connect them with resources for treatment, rather than arrest.
“So what I’ve learned in this crisis early on is we can’t arrest our way out of this issue. So treatment and recovery is the best way forward,” he said. “And since we’ve started the HART detectives have contacted and helped over 1,500 people with substance use disorder.”
HART Detectives go through peer recovery coach training and have long term experience with VICE and narcotics. Hunter said they volunteer for the program and call themselves “concierges” of treatment services, because they help people find the best program for each individual.
Doug Huntsinger, chairman of the Indiana Commission to Combat Substance Use Disorder, said fatal overdose deaths are also trending downward statewide, with a 5% decrease from 2021 to 2022.
“Our efforts are rooted in collaboration where every program, every policy and every initiative is built upon one another, creating a comprehensive, interconnected infrastructure,” he said.
Huntsinger says Indiana has been taking steps to enhance quality and availability of care. In 2018, the state expanded coverage for substance use disorder under medicaid and has tripled available residential treatment beds since 2017, totaling more than 2,900 beds statewide.
As of April 11, Allen County has seen 12 overdose deaths in 2024 and 175 non-fatal overdoses.
