Skid Row, often referred to as the epicenter of L.A.’s homeless crisis, is gaining a new reputation as the city’s overdose capital as an increase in fentanyl use drives record-setting fatalities.
Fatal overdoses in the three zip codes surrounding the area increased by 1,038% over the past six years — from 13 deaths in 2017 to 248 deaths in 2022, according to data recently obtained from the L.A. County medical examiner by a group of service providers, academics and activists.
“I took one hit and blacked out, the next thing I know there were four firefighters standing over me asking me how long I had been messing with fentanyl,” said Jacquies Manson in Skid Row on Wednesday, referring to an incident about a month ago.
Manson initially thought he was smoking methamphetamine, but now believes the drug was laced with the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Firefighter EMTs were able to revive him with the use of naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses.
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Others are not as lucky.
Two-hundred and forty of Skid Row’s 2022 overdose deaths took place in the 90013 and 90014 zip codes. Fentanyl was identified as a primary cause of death in three out of four of these incidents.
“These are not just numbers and statistics, these are friends, family and loved ones,” said Charles Porter, program director for United Coalition East Prevention Project, an organization focused on addressing substance use issues in Skid Row.
“We must stop the rise in overdose deaths,” he said.
In response to these alarming numbers, Porter and other advocates have created a series of demands for elected officials.
They include making naloxone accessible in all Skid Row hotels, increasing the number of substance use treatment beds available in the area, and mandating overdose crisis response plans be made for every housing development in Skid Row.
“We are facing a crisis, not only…
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