Ohio has struggled for years with the insidious impact of the drug crisis, with overdoses claiming over 4,000 lives in 2017. Now with the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, harm-reduction workers are struggling to curb a resurgence of drug overdoses in Ohio with a death rate that is higher than the past 14 years. As the United States enters a third wave of the pandemic, harm-reduction workers are innovating their approaches in a world of social distancing and isolation.
How will discussions and outpatient drug programs take place? If another stay-at-home order is declared in Ohio, how will counseling and care continue? How does the pandemic impact the emotional wellbeing of drug dependent communities?
This photo essay explores how harm-reduction workers and drug dependent communities are navigating their emotions and survival amid a pandemic.