INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Black communities in Indianapolis experience more opioid overdoses than others, but through outreach and education, one organization hopes to bring those numbers down.

Lack of awareness, misinformation or stigma, and structural racism are a few of the issues that create disparities in certain Indianapolis ZIP codes.

They can also lead to longer emergency response times — a disparity that means the difference between life and death.

“People will say, ‘We called and they came 30 minutes later or we called and it was 45 minutes later, or we called and it was too late for them to come,’” said Charlotte Crabtree, diversity and outreach program manager for Overdose Lifeline.  

There aren’t exact numbers on the response times, but Crabtree says the disparities are real. A big factor is the fear of being mistreated by law enforcement, which delays people from calling 911 or asking for help even if they have Naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, available.

“If you have this, you must be involved in drugs in some kind of way and that type of thing. Although the laws are in place, you’re protected under the Good Samaritan law and Erin’s law, there’s still that disparity,” Crabtree said.

Misconceptions about opioid addiction and what the medical condition entails can also deter people from seeking help but resources from community organizations inside marginalized communities may be the key to bringing the numbers down.

“In 2021, the overdose rate for the Black community in Indianapolis was 198 per 100,000 people and is now gone down to 144,” said Claire Anton of Overdose Lifeline.

Anton said that’s due to more outreach by programs like MACRO-B and S.O.U.L., which aim to reach more marginalized groups including LGBTQ+ and non-English speaking populations.

“We do a lot of outreach in Marion County, we pass out a lot of naloxone and test strips to the community and I think that had an effect on the decrease,” Anton said.

ZIP codes 46202, 46205,46208, and 46218 have the highest numbers of opioid overdose deaths in the Indianapolis Black community at 70%.

“The end of 2023, we saw a decrease of 27% of the body counts in the black communities,” Crabtree said.

Despite the challenges, Crabtree says it’s important to put aside biases and finger-pointing on both sides to come up with a solution that benefits all.

“We are not here to blame, but we’re here to give you food for thought about ‘What am I doing today? What are my biases?’” she said.

Last year, nearly 7,000 naloxone kits were distributed in Marion County with 22% going to people who identify as Black.