The calls come at all hours. Sometimes it is a young person barely out of high school. Sometimes it is someone who has been using it for decades. They all have one thing in common: they are looking for a way out.
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Escambia County’s Coordinated Opioid Recovery (CORE) program has been that way out for 400 people. County officials say it is reshaping the local fight against the opioid crisis.
“Since 2023, we have seen an approximate 68% decrease in overdose-related deaths in Escambia County, and a significant reduction in the number of overdose-related emergency calls,” Joey Kerman, supervisor of the CORE program, told WUWF.
The free, voluntary program is available to anyone in Escambia County struggling with opioid use. “All of our CORE patients were located in Escambia County,” Kerman said. “We have treated patients throughout Escambia County, from Century to Perdido Key.”
The people who walk through CORE’s doors, or are brought in by ambulance, or come on the recommendation of a friend, range from 17 to 80 years old. The average age is 35. Some have relapsed, including 19 who left the program and later returned.
“That represents a substantial behavioral change, which is amazing,” Kerman said. “Recovery is a winding road, and sometimes the path loops backwards.”
RELATED: Escambia County CORE program reaches 200th patient milestone, as opioid overdose deaths decline
For most, fentanyl is the culprit, sometimes hiding in plain sight.
“Fentanyl and pills pressed with fentanyl have been the most common,” Kerman said. “They are disguised as Xanax or Oxycodone, or Adderall.” In some cases, people thought they were using THC, only to learn it contained fentanyl.
When CORE began, about half of its patients were referred through EMS calls. Now, more come from other patients, hospitals, and people being released from jail. Kerman said word-of-mouth has become one of the program’s strongest tools.
“This patient population is very guarded, and many of them have been preyed upon or cast out,” he said. “That is why seeing others recover helps motivate them to take that next step.”
Once they enter the program, every patient receives mental health and trauma counseling. “As these individuals become sober, they peel back the layers of what led them down that path,” Kerman said. “Some are more prepared than others, but our team remains in touch and gives encouragement when they need it.”
CORE also leans on partnerships with Community Health Northwest Florida and Lakeview Center. “We have been successful because we meet people where they are and stick with them until they are ready for the next step in their treatment through our community partners,” Kerman said. “They connect CORE patients with not only addiction services and mental health services, but also primary care services.”
The change has been measurable. In 2023, Escambia County’s opioid overdose annual age-adjusted death rate was 47.0 per 100,000 residents. That was nearly double the state rate of 25.3. Just two years later, the county has seen those deaths drop by more than two-thirds.
Behind the statistics are people whose lives have been rewritten.
“We have several patients celebrating two years of sobriety,” Kerman said. “One person was successfully reconnected with family and is starting graduate school to continue helping others. Watching these transformations is absolutely amazing. Empowering people to take control and become the hero of their narrative is the most rewarding part of this program.”
