02/03/2025

Drug Deaths Are Down in One Ohio County

Why this is so complex

One of Evelyn Tharp’s sons died of a drug overdose. So did her brother. And two nephews and a niece. Her surviving son and daughter wrestle with severe mental illness and drug use.

Her family life is chaotic except for the presence of a Hamilton County outreach worker named Sarah Coyne.

Each week, Coyne drops by the family’s home in the hardscrabble Price Hill neighborhood. She ferries Tharp’s 44-year-old daughter to receive medication that treats opioid addiction. Coyne has arranged many stays at hospitals and treatment centers for Tharp’s 39-year-old son — and revived him multiple times after finding him unconscious from overdoses.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.