PORTLAND, Ore. — There’s no question the Portland area has a fentanyl crisis. But how many people in total have died due to it has been unclear until now.
Multnomah County’s latest report details the fentanyl overdose deaths that occurred within the area in just over five years. Between 2018 and 2023, around 868 people died from a fentanyl overdose in Multnomah County. But the total number could be higher, as the report only includes data through August 2023.
RELATED: 68 people have died from suspected or confirmed fentanyl overdoses in Portland area this year
According to the Health Department's report, most of the fentanyl overdose deaths occurred in downtown Portland. However, in 2023, many of the deaths were concentrated in two downtown Portland neighborhoods — Old Town and Pearl District.
Over time, the county saw a rapid increase in the number of fentanyl overdose deaths per month. Between 2018 and 2019, Multnomah County saw just two fentanyl fatalities a month. By 2022, that number jumped to 22 deaths a month.
Preliminary data shows there was at least 322 fentanyl overdose deaths in 2023 — nearly 36 per month. Last year, 25% of those deaths were homeless.
Of the total deaths, 228 were female and 640 were male. More than half of the fentanyl overdose deaths were white men and people between the ages of 35 and 44. However, officials noted that overdose deaths among Black, American Indian and Alaska Native people are much higher in population proportion compared to other communities.
"We can use this data to tailor our efforts at the health department and to support community efforts to help reach people who need it most," said Emily Mosites, epidemiology manager at the Multnomah County Health Department.
In late January, Gov. Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson declared a 90-day fentanyl emergency aimed at syncing up the city, county and state in responding to the fentanyl crisis. As part of it, Portland Fire and Rescue launched a special team called "CHAT" to help respond to overdoses downtown and take the strain off firefighters.
Last month, Portland first responders were called to just over 1,000 opioid overdoses — mostly around Old Town. It's unclear how many were due to fentanyl or were fatal, but data currently shows that Portland sees on average around 200 opioid overdoses a week.
"I want to cry, I do, but I'm damn near all cried out," said Michael, who lives on the streets and is addicted to fentanyl.
He can't count the number of friends he has lost to fentanyl, and it's one reason why he turns to the drug.
"I've lost myself due to overdose quite a few times," Michael said.
He estimates that he has overdosed about six times.
"I feel like our city and just the general public as a whole has pretty much failed to get a grasp on how to help people who are struggling with this," said Ian, who is homeless in Portland and addicted to fentanyl.
"I view this drug as a shackle in my life that every day I wake up and I have to figure out how I'm going to fix my problem of getting sick if I don't use. I'm shackled to it; I'm stuck," he added.