Hancock County officials recently offered an update on the opioid crisis in the county.

Precia Stuby, Director of the Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services says they are seeing a drop in the number of people abusing opioids.

“And for the first time in several years we’re seeing a reduction in the number of overdose deaths.”

After a high of 30 in 2017 and 21 in 2018, she says the county’s overdose deaths will be lower again this year.

Stuby says, while fewer people are using opioids in Hancock County and dying from overdoses, we’re still in crisis mode.

“As long as we have individuals who are overdosing and dying it’s still a crisis.”

Stuby says the two big changes they’ve made in battling the opioid crisis are: they’re building more services for people to support someone who is struggling, and they’re offering more outreach and engagement instead of waiting for people to come in and ask for help.

“While we’ve made some progress, we’re nowhere near out of the woods yet,” Stuby said.

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