Overdose deaths down in La Salle County, officials remain steadfast in promoting awareness

For the first time since 2017, La Salle County recorded zero drug overdose deaths in consecutive months.

There were no drug overdose deaths countywide from December to April, La Salle County Coroner Rich Ploch said at Thursday’s La Salle County Board meeting.

So far, the county has had four confirmed overdose deaths, compared to 42 in 2022 and 34 in 2021, Ploch said.

While La Salle County is seeing a decrease in overdose deaths, drug use is not going down, said Luke Tomsha of Perfectly Flawed Foundation in La Salle. It’s not uncommon to receive reports of more than 30 overdose reversals per month from emergency responders. A reversal is when naloxone is used to reverse an overdose.

What’s changed is naloxone is getting into more hands and into those who need it most, which he said is a pragmatic approach to the issue.

“It’s a lot,” Tomsha said of overdose reversals. “What we’re not seeing is the fatalities. ... Drug use is not going down. To eliminate it is an impossible goal. There will always be a certain percentage that use drugs and alcohol. We’re trying to be pragmatic about solutions.”

The La Salle County Board approved a resolution Thursday to keep attention on overdoses and declaring Aug. 27 to Sept. 2 Drug Overdose Awareness Week. Residents and businesses are encouraged to install purple lights either on their porch or outdoor lighting that week to magnify the message and remember those who lost their lives.

In the resolution, La Salle County Board Chairman Don Jensen said drug overdoses have surpassed vehicle accident deaths as the leading cause of injury death in the United States.

Ploch said drug abuse is not limited to opioids. It has extended into combinations of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.

“La Salle county still has a serious problem,” Ploch said. “ ... Any death is one too many and tragic.”

Ploch said La Salle County needs to continue to take proactive measures, such as the county’s prescription take back program. He said more than 200 pounds of prescription drugs were dropped in the receptacles in the past year and it helps keep those items off the street.

Perfectly Flawed Foundation partners with several organizations throughout the county, Tomsha said. It is focused on harm reduction, promoting multiple pathways to recovery. He said the traditional approach to recovery is abstinence from drugs, but he said it misses a lot of people in the middle, where his organization’s focus is on improving their lives.

Perfectly Flawed hosts peer support groups, which entail a volunteer project every Thursday, as well as other activities such as canoeing, bowling and jarring honey for sale.

“We focus on activities for people to feel connected to their community,” Tomsha said. “People who use drugs are often isolated and need people to support them.”

Perfectly Flawed is working with a federal study on reentry into the corrections system and getting naloxone into the hands of people who are most likely to use it through overdose prevention programs and training, Tomsha said. The organization provides personal hygiene and care kits to those in need.

Looking for help?

Anyone looking for help can call or text Perfectly Flawed Foundation, 240 First St., La Salle, at 815-830-8675. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Go to perfectlyflawed.org for more information on the organization.