And while the number of lives lost is up across nearly every demographic

since the start of the pandemic, there's been an especially alarming

spike and overdose deaths among black Americans. John Yang reports

from ST Louis on what's behind a growing public health crisis.

I'm gonna take a listen to your heart and lungs. ST Louis Clinic.

52 year old Gerard Row has a routine appointment with Dr Konica Cunningham.

She makes the usual checks even deeper.

Blowout.

This is it now It's about another issue. She's monitoring you said

still kind of using a little bit. Are you using safe and we had talked

about that before? Okay, Snorting not doing anything. I ve okay.

Cunningham of family practice position treats drug addiction, inter

patients just like any other medical conditions like high blood pressure

or diabetes. If they're not ready to stop using drugs, she wants

them to use them safely. Considering the last time that happened,

you had that overdose.

So

Yeah, I don't want you to overdose again. My treatment plans incorporate

safe use tips, Safe consumption tips. 1 800, number two. Never use

a long review and how to use our cancer. I want people to leave feeling

empowered and equipped with information because it's a chronic disease.

Recurrence of use is going to happen. So if we know that it's going

to happen. Why don't we give the individual in front of us share

that knowledge that I have so that I can see you next week at your

next appointment? I see you two weeks later.

Approach she believes could help stem the soaring number of drug

overdose deaths, especially among African Americans.

Here in the ST Louis area. Since 2015 deaths from drug overdoses

are up nearly 400% in the black community rate of increase that's

eight times higher than the rise among white residents. It's a public

health crisis that's largely been overshadowed by the pandemic in

2020 and 2021. We lost over 400 black men.

Over two years span. We lost more people to overdoses than to covid

19. This is a civil rights issues and human rights issue that we

need to change is a chronic disease and we have stigmatized a chronic

disease. Yes, has been battling addiction since 2016 when he was

depressed over losing his job, and someone offered him heroin.

So I was in the dumps.

And I thought that maybe I had to make me feel better if I snort

a couple of lines.

That hooked me.

And it hooked me five years. I mean, hooked me bad.

Heroin gave way to fentanyl, A synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful.

Eventually he was taking up to 35 pills a day. Was it just wanting

it? Or was it needing it needed it even stopped paying bills.

Just to get that. You know, the nice apartment. I was written that

I was at

For five years. That's gold. Um, I mean, it really took me through

some things to overdoses of his own, couldn't convince him to try

to stop.

But the overdose deaths of two others close to him. Did I lost a

son?

He overdosed. I lost a brother.

All in one year overdosed on fitting all

Hmm. And that will be up. No if they said, But no second guess and

I gotta stop has been Cunningham's patient for three months. I mean,

some days just like up here. I mean, it's so intense that I can't

get past it and put them on Suboxone, one of the main medicines used

to treat opioid addiction. Let's see how you do that should really

help control.

Your cravings that would draw, he says. It's helped him cut down

to a single fentanyl pill a day

where the need is, Um, and that's where I like to go to reach people

like row Cunningham teams with other health care providers and community

groups to take treatment out of doctors, offices and clinics and

into neighborhoods like this one in North ST Louis

cleaned up. What are your thoughts about that?

I would love to have that mobile treatment centers offer things like

the overdose reversal drug Narcan and offer tips on how to safely

use drugs

is one effort to bring treatment, bring everything into the community

and now always rely on the community to come to us. And what are

people getting here? What's being handed out food? Um, they're given

Um, are Candace there fit? No testing strips as well. People need

access to sign up for Medicaid. So we get them at least start. The

initial process will sign them up for Medicaid. It's part of an effort

to build trust and break down barriers in neighborhoods that Cunningham

calls treatment deserts where our treatment centers are situated.

Sometimes people have to catch two and three Busses to get there.

So imagine the burden we put on people to come to us to see us and

then you have a small window of getting around. Time of your bus

is late.

You tell you can't be seen, so it's just it's so many different issues.

Also part of the neighborhood effort. Clergy like the Reverend Roderick

Burton, Nora can. This is what we used to reverse an overdose

definitely need to get this into the hands of the community. Cunningham

advises them how to talk about substance abuse in ways that show

compassion. The church unfortunately, has been many leaders and members

of added judgmental.

View of people suffering from addiction. We can learn number one

was the white way to talk to people who are experiencing this, so

we're not doing so in a judgment away, but also how can we acutely

address when people do fall out?

How can we save their lives? I remember walking the street with my

grandmother going to the corner store and

in attitude that Cunningham knows firsthand. She grew up in the ST

Louis area and recalls Howard grandmother spoke about people in the

neighborhood who used drugs was

Also raised to view substance used as an issue drug use problem that's

on the individual. And now the more knowledge and education I see

that it's more of a systemic issue was not on the individual is trauma

is systemic Racism is all of that. All that can be a hurdle between

people who use drugs and finding treatment. Overdose crisis is disproportionately

affecting black people because they can't get their basic needs.

Met. Devon Banks is a psychologist at the universe.

City of Missouri ST Louis.

There's a stigma associated with being a person who uses drugs, and

there's a stigma associated with being black. The people who are

being affected recognized that stigma and discrimination and that

prevents them

from feeling safe.

In treatment settings. Taking your medication

taken, Cunningham says. Getting patients into treatment is only half

the battle. Often an even bigger challenge can be keeping them. Their

next appointment is

It's the third

Next month. Okay, community health worker De'anthony Henderson crisscrosses

the city, checking on patients and being an extra set of eyes and

ears for Cunningham.

Sometimes in the doctor's office.

You know, they don't feel comfortable with sharing a lot of things.

So when I come out, they usually serve Sara more with me, and I'll

be able to share it with the doctor

to get you up to a good dose to help treat it all part of Cunningham's

approach to treating addiction one. The Gerard Roque credits for

the progress he's made. Don't scold me.

She gives me

She lets me make my own decision.

Either you go. Stop or not, But I'm gonna tell you if you don't stop.

This is the result.

And if you do stop, this is the result. Can you put into words what

they give you?

Hope.

Confidence.

Give me the power to overcome this.

Um

They give me outlook on a better future

really appreciate. You do

a future that he hopes will not include drugs for the PBS news hour.