Concerns are growing as the number of opioid overdose deaths in the Valley continue to climb as the pandemic drags on.

A Trumbull County mental health official says 2021 is on pace to shatter the record for the highest number of the opioid overdose deaths ever recorded in the county.

She says the fight to combat overdoses and drug use has to change course.

"We are on track to have the deadliest year than we've ever had," April Caraway said, executive director of the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board.

Ending 12-step meetings during the pandemic, isolation and poverty are all factors into why mental health officials tell 21 News the number of drug overdose deaths and drug use went up.

In some cases, Caraway says the stimulus checks meant to help struggling families only gave addicts more access to drugs.

"It could be a trigger when you have additional money in your pocket and each of our communities have seen an increase in overdose deaths after the stimulus checks went out," Caraway said.

2017 was considered the "peak" of the drug epidemic in Trumbull County with a total of 135 deaths.

In the first quarter of this year, Trumbull saw 35 deaths, Mahoning is reporting 65 to date and Columbiana County counted 10 opioid overdose deaths.

Men died from overdoses two to three times more often than women in county. Caraway says the primary reason people start using opioids is still linked to first using pain pills. The average ages of those dying from opioid overdoses ranges from those in their 20s to 40s.

Almost all of the drugs used in those cases were mixed with fentanyl.

"It is really hard to keep people motivated to stay into treatment and I think as providers, we're all trying a number of different things," Carol Givens said, executive director of treatment with the Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic.

Givens also says the stimulus money helped to fuel more opioid purchases.

An influx of naloxone kits are heading to 23 counties across the state of Ohio, including Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties. Trumbull will receive 780 naloxone, Mahoning will get about 250 and Columbiana County will receive 206 kits.

Caraway says this will help keep people alive and get more individuals into treatment.

The naloxone kits will be available for pick up at her office, county health departments, in local emergency rooms. She says they're working with two local churches to also offer the kits to the public.

Caraway is encouraging everyone in the general public to carry a kit with them.

Both doses will need to be administered to an individual before any emergency crews are called to help. Caraway says the fentanyl linked to recent local deaths is much stronger than in cases in the past.

"You could run into someone in a store or in a parking lot who has overdosed," she said. "We can't get people into treatment if they're dead, that's the bottom line."

The mental health recovery board plans to get naloxone kits out to the zip codes with the highest number of overdose deaths. 

The top five zip codes where overdose deaths have been reported include 44483, 44485, 44484, 44481 and 44446. The top four zip codes include the city of Warren and 44446 includes Niles and Weathersfield.