Overdose Scope & Statistics

Overdose Scope & Statistics

 

Most Current Community Assessment Statistics (raw data can be found here)

Compiled Statistics Related to Overdose and Naloxone

Overdoses In Grand Traverse County:

  • In 2023, Grand Traverse County was awarded $4.5 million in opioid lawsuit settlement funds, which will be used for Naloxone, opioid-related treatment, prevention, education, recovery support, and more (Milligan, 2023a).

  • Munson Healthcare (n.d.) reports that "39.6 percent of patients treated in the emergency department for substance use disorder will return to the ED within 90 days." 

  • Munson hospitals treated 25,419 unintentional and undetermined intent drug overdoses in 2018, and nearly half involved opioids (Record Eagle, 2020). 

  • In 2022, Grand Traverse County reported 264 suspected overdoses; 23 were fatal, more than any other surrounding county. Naloxone was reported in 76 (only 29%) of Grand Traverse County overdoses. (Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, 2023; Michigan System for Opioid Overdose Surveillance, 2023). 

  • In 2020, there were 22 drug-related deaths in Grand Traverse County, and 68% of them involved opioids (Record Eagle, 2020).

  • From 2015-2017, there was a 229% increase in drug related fatalities in Grand Traverse County (Grand Traverse County Drug Free Coalition, 2022).

In Michigan:

  • Disparities among Michigan opioid overdoses deaths for People of Color suggest "staggering" implication for substance use and mental health services. In a 5-year period, opoid deaths doubled and suicide rates rose 88% for African Americans in Michigan (Roelofs, 2023). The QRT advocates for equal access to behavioral health services for all participants .

  • In Michigan, 3,096 people died of an overdose in 2021, almost triple the number of traffic crash fatalities (State of Michigan, 2022).

  • 53.9% of drug overdose deaths in Michigan had at least one potential opportunity for intervention (CDC, 2021). 

  • Governor Whitmer announced a statewide goal to cut the number of overdoses in half by 2025 (MDHHS, 2020).

In the U.S.:

  • "Every day in the United States, 130 people die from an opioid overdose." (Munson Medical Center, n.d.). That's an average of one person every 9 minutes. 

  • Individuals who experience non-fatal overdose are more likely to overdose in the future (O'Donnell, 2017, as cited in Childs & Lanzillotta-Rangeley, n.d.).

  • 10% of people who experience a non-fatal overdose will be dead within two years (Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, 2017, as cited in Childs & Lanzillotta-Rangeley (n.d.).

  • The economic toll of the opioid crisis reached nearly $1.5 Trillion in 2020, up 37% from 2017 numbers, adjusted for inflation (Beyer, 2022). 

  • The opioid crisis disproportionately affects People of Color and increases economic inequality (Beyer, 2022). 

Naloxone and QRT Statistics

  • 75%-80% of overdose deaths in 2020 involved an opioid (Addiction Treatment Services, 2022). Naloxone is used to reverse opioid overdoses.

  • When given Naloxone, 93.5% of people survive their overdose (Kounang, 2017). 

  • People who survive an overdose and talk to someone following the event are more likely to seek and enroll in services related to recovery and harm reduction (Childs & Lanzillotta-Rangeley, n.d.).

  • Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSUP, n.d.) reports that "when our [Quick Response Team] team engaged within 3-5 days of an overdose, face-to-face, more than 80% of the time, we were getting people into treatment.

Compiled Statistics Related to Vulnerable Populations

In Grand Traverse County:

  • The 2021 Grand Traverse County Community Health Assessment reported substance use, housing and mental health as the top three issues impacting Grand Traverse County, and the top three services that would benefit the community (MiTHRIVE, 2021).

  • Grand Traverse County Drug Free Coalition (2018) identified two of the root causes of substance use in Grand Traverse County to be mental illness and homelessness.

  • In 2023, Grand Traverse County commissioners approved $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to build a new Grand Traverse Center for Mental Wellness, a regional mental health center at 420 Brook Street that will help to coordinate and improve access for mental health and substance use services. It is expected to be open by "the end of 2024" (Milligan, 2023b).

  • Participant interviews report a lack of support after release from treatment for individuals with mental health and substance use disorders (Grand Traverse County Drug Free Coalition, 2018). 

In Michigan:

  • Munson Medical Center (n.d.) reports that the number of people diagnosed with Opioid addiction between 2010 and 2016 increased 493% in Michigan alone.

  • 5.0% of all overdose deaths in Michigan were people experiencing homelessness. 

The Link Between Substance Use, Mental Health & Homelessness

  • In a 2013 report, SAMHSA concluded that all three issues (homelessness, mental illness and substance use disorder) must be addressed simultaneously to achieve successful treatment outcomes (Hancq, South & Vencel, 2021).

  • "The National Institute of Drug Abuse estimates that approximately 50% of people with mental illnesses will develop a Substance Use Disorder over the course of their lifetime, and 50% of those with substance use disorder will develop a mental health condition" (Pinals & Fuller, 2020). 

  • 1 in 4 Americans (82.5 million) had either a Substance Use Disorder or a Mental Illness in 2021, and 7.6% of the U.S. population (19.4 Million people) had both.  Of the people who had both Substance Use Disorder and Any Mental Illness, 3.9 Million (20%) were reportedly below the poverty level (SAMHSA, 2020). This is similar to data reported in 2020. 

  • 1/3 of people with Serious Mental Illness also have a Substance Use Disorder (Hancq, South & Vencel, 2021). 

  • In 2020, 75% of people (nearly 250 Million Americans) reported they had used a substance in the past month (SAMHSA, 2020). 

  • People who have mental illness are more likely to use every type of substance. SAMHSA reports that for adults 18 or over in 2020, those with any mental illness were more likely than those without mental illness to use illicit drugs (48.5% of those with mental illness used, compared to 17% who did not have a mental illness), use marijuana (39.2% vs. 14.6%), use opioids (11.6% vs. 2.3%), use tobacco (37.4% vs. 19.6%) and binge drink (30.9% vs. 22.8%) (SAMHSA, 2021).  

  • In 2021, SAMHSA reports that between 30%-70% of people experiencing homelessness also had co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (Hancq, South & Vencel, 2021), increased from 2017-2018 data which suggests it was up to 25% (Upshur et al., 2017; Ding, Slate, & Yang, 2018). This is 4-10 times higher than the rate of people without co-occurring disorders (SAMHSA, 2021). 

  • Harm reduction techniques may be more accessible and successful for people with a severe mental illness and substance use disorder compared to abstinence-only models (Hancq, South & Vencel, 2021).

Compiled Statistics Related to Interactions with Justice System for Vulnerable People

  • Individuals with co-occurring substance use disorder and serious mental illness are overrepresented in every part of the criminal justice system and are more likely to experience homelessness (Hancq, South & Vencel, 2021). 

  • Repeat arrestees are disproportionately homeless and have co-occurring mental health and Substance Use Disorder diagnoses (Magee et al., 2021; Hancq, South & Vencel, 2021). 

  • Individuals released from correctional facilities are 40 times more likely than the general population to die from an opioid overdose within the first two weeks following their release (MDHHS, 2020).

  • 1/3 of people in the U.S. with mental illness will be involved with the Police (Judge Milton Mack, Stop the Merry Go Round, AOT Training, 2022). 

  • 30-40% of people who had been arrested had a mental health or Substance Use Disorder diagnosis, and about 20% had both in two separate studies (Magee et al., 2021; Prince & Wald, 2018). But some of the statistics show even more prevalence; a study in Iowa concluded that almost half of their inmates with a mental illness also had a history of substance use, and a well-cited 1991 study estimated that 72% of jail detainees with a severe mental disorder also have a substance use disorder (Hancq, South & Vencel, 2021).

  • People with co-occurring disorders were 7.47 more likely to be arrested and booked for breathing the law in the last 12 months, and 16 more likely to be arrested for a violent crime, compared with someone who did not have mental illness or Substance Use Disorder (Hancq, South & Vencel, 2021).

  • According to 2017 data published by SAMHSA, 17% of inmates have Serious Mental Illness, compared to just 5% of the general population. 53% of people in prison and 68% of people in jail have Substance Use Disorder, compared to just 8.5% of people not incarcerated (SAMHSA, 2017).

Other Statistics Related to Traverse City, Michigan

U.S. Census Bureau (2021) reports:

  • Population of Traverse City: 15,978, compared to the population of Grand Traverse County: 95,860
     
  • Grand Traverse County Median Household Income: $69,393
     
  • Grand Traverse County Racial/Ethnic Groups include White (92.4%), Hispanic (3.0%), and Two or More Races (2.3%)


Statistics updated biannually with latest available data. Last updated 7/2023.