Fentanyl fuels record deaths in Oregon News, sports, jobs

The contents of a tent are seen in bags as workers dismantle the tent after Portland, Oregon, police arrested the person staying there on June 28 in Portland. (AP photo)

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Fentanyl led to a spike in homeless deaths last year in Multnomah County, Oregon, home to Portland, according to an annual county report released Friday that officials described as showing the peak of the region’s fentanyl crisis.

The report found that 456 homeless people died in the county in 2023 — the highest number on record and a 45% jump compared to 2022. Last year’s deaths included 282 due to unintentional drug overdoses — more than double the previous year — with fentanyl contributing to 89 deaths. % of those deaths.

The increase in fentanyl-related deaths among the homeless mirrors national trends, and reflects the spread of the substance in recent years from the East Coast across the western United States, the county said in a news release. In 2017, fentanyl was recorded as a contributor to the death of a homeless person in the county; By 2023, that number has reached 251.

“The devastating toll fentanyl is taking on our community is starkly evident in this report and it is heartbreaking.” Multnomah County Sheriff Jessica Vega Pederson said in the news release. “This is a moment for our community to grieve alongside the more than 450 families who lost loved ones in 2023, and to continue to provide and fight for more behavioral health, supportive housing and other resources for the response.”

Methamphetamine also contributed to 81% of homeless overdose deaths in 2023.

Multnomah County Health Officer Richard Bruno said in the report “A hit close to the heart” Many of the people who died were patients he cared for at the clinic. But he added that he remains optimistic about the future, following the domestic and international emergency declaration to address the fentanyl crisis.

“While we see a decline in fentanyl overdose deaths in 2024, we hope future reports will bear much lower numbers.” He said in the press release.

14 deaths were due to homicide, and 26 deaths were due to suicide. 22 of the deaths were transportation-related, with the report noting that homeless people last year were 58 times more likely to die from transportation-related injuries than the general county population.

There were no deaths due to heat and one due to exposure to cold, according to the report.

The average age at death was 46 years, about 30 years less than the national average life expectancy at birth.