The Connecticut Department of Public Health launched a new online dashboard tracking unintentional drug overdose deaths across the state and in each town and region.
The data will be updated each month, and is designed to help health workers and community groups understand patterns and plan prevention work.
A map in the dashboard also shows pharmacies in each county that carry naloxone, a life-saving medication for opioid overdose.
"Good local data can help save lives," DPH Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani said in a statement. "This dashboard gives towns and community groups current information they can use to act. Every number stands for a person, a family, and a community. We hope this tool helps our partners keep people safe and connect them with care."
Statewide, 462 people have died of unintentional drug overdoses to date this year, a sharp decline from 836 deaths last year. The number of deaths continues to fall after peaking in 2021 at 1,530.
For groups with reliable data, the number of overdose deaths in recent years was highest among non-Hispanic white people. But the death rate, which accounts for population size, was highest among non-Hispanic Black people — 22.5 per 100,000 this year, compared with 12.5 among non-Hispanic white people and 12.3 among Hispanic people.
"While it is encouraging to see recent annual totals begin to decline from the devastating peaks we experienced in 2021, every single data point on this dashboard represents a shattered family and a preventable tragedy,” said Christine Gagnon, mother of Michael Gagnon, who died of a drug overdose.
Gagnon, who serves on the Connecticut Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee, said tracking the data is a vital step toward transparency, but tools alone cannot save lives.
“We must channel this data into urgent community action, accessible treatment, and widespread harm reduction before another family is forced to grieve," she said.
For help finding local health and human services, including help with drug use or mental health, call 211 or visit 211ct.org. Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
