PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Today is Revive Awareness Day, a campaign put on by the Florida Department of Health to share the signs of overdose, the resources and programs available and the support offered to individuals with substance use disorder.
Every year since 2016, Pinellas County has seen an increase in overdose deaths caused by opioids. In 2022, there was an overdose death every 14 hours.
But now, thanks to educational campaign efforts, the county is starting to see an improvement in those numbers.
For those who have faced the scariest parts of addiction, they share their story to share hope.
"If we hadn't ordered it in advance, I don't think that I would be here, because it did take first responders five minutes to get there after she gave me that first dose," Bella Novotny shared.
Novotny has been sober for 8 years. She credits having naloxone, an opioid reversal drug, on hand to saving her life. When she took too much morphine, her friend administered Naloxone to her before first responders arrived.
"It was one of the scariest moments in my life," she said. "Waking up and not realizing what's going on, you know, bright lights all around you. And people just calling your name and saying, 'Do you know what happened?' and you really don't. It's a moment of complete... emptiness, and you don't realize that you're overdosing. It's too late."
Right now, you can get Naloxone for free, even anonymously. You can learn more about their program here. You can order the medicine online, or pick it up at a local location.
"You could walk into any one of our five Department Health locations in Pinellas County and request Naloxone at the front desk and receive it as long as you're 18 or over," Marianne Dean, the program manager of the office of overdose prevention said.
Dean said the health department has seen the impact education and providing resources have made on overdose deaths.
"2023 was the first year we've seen finally a plateau and a somewhat decline," Dean said. "So my messaging here is that we need to keep on the momentum that we can't stop and celebrate."
Malique Rankin is an Emmy award-winning general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.