{"id":79819,"date":"2026-03-19T01:23:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T08:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=79819"},"modified":"2026-03-19T01:23:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T08:23:39","slug":"empathy-not-stigma-has-helped-lower-addiction-overdose-deaths-in-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=79819","title":{"rendered":"Empathy, Not Stigma Has Helped Lower Addiction, Overdose Deaths in LA"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Nicole Chang<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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LOS ANGELES \u2014 It was just a few years ago that Aurora Morales was living on the street in downtown Los Angeles, struggling with homelessness and addiction. Today she helps run the very center where she herself received treatment.<\/p>\n

Morales is part of efforts to stem addiction and overdose deaths in Los Angeles, which have declined, if unevenly, thanks to investments in prevention and treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I needed at that time was love, support and someone who cared for me without judgement,\u201d she said. \u201cIf someone had simply told me, \u2018You need to change right now,\u2019 I wouldn\u2019t have listened. Change begins when a relationship is built first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prevention and harm reduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

That strategy \u2014\u00a0of meeting people where they are \u2014\u00a0is at the center of new approaches being adopted by LA County to address disparities in addiction rates and overdose deaths mainly in low-income communities of color.<\/p>\n

Morales is associate director of community initiatives at the nonprofit\u00a0Homeless Health Care Los Angeles<\/a>, where she was once a client and where she now leads an overdose response team serving the city\u2019s Skid Row and MacArthur Park areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey treated me with respect and without stigma,\u201d she said of her experience, \u201cand that made a huge difference in my recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morales spoke during a March 12\u00a0virtual press briefing<\/a>\u00a0hosted by American Community Media on the lingering disparities in drug overdose deaths in Los Angeles. Speakers also shared perspectives on strategies for prevention and harm reduction.<\/p>\n

Homelessness and addiction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Los Angeles has among the\u00a0highest unhoused populations in the country<\/a>, second only to New York. Estimates vary but anywhere from a quarter to a third of this population report regular use of illicit drugs, including methamphetamine or fentanyl.<\/p>\n

Data from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released in June 2025 show the city saw a\u00a022% drop in overdose deaths<\/a>, from 3,137 in 2024 to 2,438 last year, the lowest number recorded since 2019.<\/p>\n

Fentanyl has been a major driver of accidental overdose deaths in recent years, surpassing methamphetamine in 2022 as the most common drug listed as a cause of death. In 2024, the proportion of accidental overdose deaths involving fentanyl declined to 52%, down from 64% in 2023, according to county data.<\/p>\n

Dr. Brian Hurley is medical director of Substance Abuse Prevention and Control at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. He welcomed recent gains by the city and county in lowering overdoses, adding, however, that Black residents continue to experience the highest overdose death rates. Latino residents account for the largest number of deaths overall because of their larger population.<\/p>\n

Community as first responder<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Public health officials say expanded access to naloxone has played a major role in the decline. Naloxone is a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, including those involving fentanyl, by restoring breathing.<\/p>\n

Shoshanna Scholar, director of the Harm Reduction Division at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, said millions of doses of naloxone have been distributed in recent years. Since 2019, the medication has been used in approximately 50,000 overdose reversals across the county.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeighbors, families and friends are saving each other\u2019s lives,\u201d Scholar said. \u201cIn many ways, the community has become the first responder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Public health experts say harm reduction strategies and community-based partnerships are essential in addressing the crisis.<\/p>\n

Harm reduction programs focus on keeping people alive and connected to services even if they are not ready to stop using drugs.<\/p>\n

Street outreach<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kelvin Driscoll, director of the South Los Angeles nonprofit HOPICS (Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System), said outreach workers play a crucial role in reaching people who might otherwise remain disconnected from services.<\/p>\n

HOPICS provides housing assistance, mental health care and substance-use treatment while conducting street outreach. Last year, about 8,000 people visited the group\u2019s drop-in center, Driscoll said, adding staff distributed more than 48,000 doses of naloxone and recorded 599 overdose reversals.<\/p>\n

On any given day or night Morales\u2019 outreach teams can be found on the streets around Skid Row or MacArthur Park, where they distribute naloxone and train local residents on how to use it. That training allows community members to respond to overdoses even when outreach teams are not present.<\/p>\n

Morales recounted a recent incident at a bus stop where a bystander revived an overdose victim using a naloxone kit her team had provided.<\/p>\n

People on the streets battling addiction \u201ccan\u2019t always ask for help,\u201d said Morales. \u201cIf no one is watching, you might not even know someone is in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added people misunderstand overdoses as intentional acts when in reality many occur accidentally.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people who use drugs are not trying to die,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re exposed to risk in environments where help isn\u2019t always available.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said addressing the crisis will require stronger partnerships among communities, health providers and public agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a Latina woman, I see how many families and communities still need more conversation and information,\u201d Morales said. \u201cSharing knowledge and understanding with each other is a critical step toward addressing the crisis we\u2019re facing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feature image via\u00a0Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ByNicole Chang Mar 17, 2026 LOS...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ca-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79819"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79820,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79819\/revisions\/79820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}