Overdose rates on the rise

Georgetown Police Department say overdoes from illegal drugs have jumped in Scott County

A stark warning from the georgetown police department.

The department posted on its facebook page this morning that overdoses from illegal drugs have jumped in scott county recently,.

They say they're waiting on toxicology reports to pinpoint the drug responsible for the overdoses.

Scott county is one of many communities across kentucky dealing with an increase in drug overdoses since the covid-19 pandemic began.

Abc 36's christy bollinger spoke with the director of a sober-living facility in lexington, who lost her son to an overdose this month.

She believes the pandemic played a role in his death.

Take sot: :03 "it's got to stop."

Take vo:when billie jo barnes is the director of the odyssey group...when she talks about the increase in drug overdoses, she does it from experience...burying her 23-year-old son earlier this month and dealing with her own relapse take sot: "that was the worst night of my life...drugs isn't the way to deal with my pain and my suffering and my heartache.

It took his death to shake me, to wake me up."

Barnes says the coronavirus has made people lose focus on their recovery... take sot: :13 "i just want people to wake up and get help.

And i want them to understand that just because this virus is out there, it doesn't mean there's not recovery."

Take vo:the stimulus checks the government responded with helped a lot of people...but it also meant problems for those on the edge take sot: :05 "it was enough money for him to buy enough drugs to take him out of this world."

Take vo:she knows it would have been trouble but she wishes stricter rules were in place... take sot: :10 "i don't want other people's children to end up in a coffin.

They need to look into background checks on these stimulus checks.

Make sure they're going to rent and groceries."

Take vo:barnes says she sees more stress in her clients struggling with recovery.

Take sot: :08 "people are afraid.

And being afraid will cause relapse alone because if you're high you don't fear anything."

Take vo:on top of that..

They're bored from unemployment.

Take sot: :05 "boredom is the biggest trigger to a recovering addict, trust me i know."

Take vo: she wants to use her son's story... to help save others' lives.

Take sot: :07 "all i want to do is help people.

That's the reason i'm here.

That's the reason i'm not high right now."

Take vo:christy bollinger, abc 36 news.