NORFOLK, Va. — Thousands of people in Virginia die every year because of opioids.
Norfolk Fire Rescue is taking another step to try to help address the issue, creating an Opioid Response Team.
It's something Norfolk mother Veronica Brickhouse is glad to hear about.
“This has affected a lot of families," Brickhouse said about the opioid crisis.
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Brickhouse lost her son, Lenny, to an opioid overdose. She got emotional when talking to News 3 about her son.
“It’s just…it’s just…oh, wow. I go past his room every day and I say, ‘Hey, little Leonard,’” said Brickhouse.
News 3 talked with her in 2023. She is one of the many people we’ve interviewed as part of our ongoing effort to raise awareness about the impact fentanyl and the opioid crisis is having in Hampton Roads.
Watch: 'We couldn't save him:' Norfolk mother remembers moment son died from fentanyl poisoning
Brickhouse's son overdosed on her kitchen floor after taking what she said he thought were pain killers but were actually fentanyl pills he bought from someone on the street.
Her son later died at a hospital.
“I just wish I could rewind the clock and it never happen to him," Brickhouse said.
Watch: Virginia House passes bill for 24-hour parental notification on school overdoses
Now, thanks to Norfolk Fire Rescue's Community Response Team vehicle and the Opioid Response Team team that uses it, others may not have to say that.
“The support and the excitement behind it has been great," Peer Recovery Specialist Ted Logue said about the team.
Along being a peer recovery specialist, Logue is former addict. He now pairs up with a Norfolk Fire Rescue firefighter-paramedic and uses his personal experience to connect with people who overdose.
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“I was excited when I saw the position being offered because it’s been years since we’ve talked about the whole idea of going out on the streets, where the addict is. Because The window of opportunity for somebody to get clean is at that moment," Logue said.
When the fire department responds to an overdose call, the two-person team also responds to provide information and resources to the victim after they‘ve been treated.
The team is unique in Hampton Roads. It's being funded with money the city received as part of the national opioid settlement.
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Norfolk Fire Rescue EMS Battalion Chief Fred Paquet said the team was created because the department saw what he calls a missing link in patient care.
“That missing link was the folks that EMS was seeing and transporting to the hospital being released and not being able to access definitive care for them," Logue explained. "What makes this special, and makes this feel even better, is filling that extra void for the opportunity for long-term recovery.”
As of Friday, the latest data from the Virginia Department of Health showed in 2023 the need for help was higher in much of Hampton Roads than the state as a whole.
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That was true in both 2022 and 2021 as well according to the VDH. In Norfolk, specifically, the need for help is nearly twice as high as the need in the state overall.
VDH data shows in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, there were 40.7 opioid overdose ER visits per 10,000 ER visits in Norfolk. That’s nearly three times as many as there were in 2018.
While Brickhouse believes the team will be a big help in the city, she also believes more still needs to be done to combat fentanyl.
Watch: Mom of fentanyl poisoned man says more education is needed
“Everybody needs to pull together and try to nip this thing in the bud," Brickhouse emphasized.
A plea from a mother who calls her experience a nightmare she wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy.
