CLEVELAND — Bethany Friedrichsen has a passion for helping people battling addiction.


What You Need To Know

  • ​Opioid overdoses are on the rise

  • In March 2021, 69 people died from overdoses, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office

  • Thrive Peer Support is giving Narcan kits and fentanyl testing kits to the community to help with the overdoses

"A couple of years ago, I met somebody who was in recovery and they ended up relapsing and going to prison because of, you know, some impact and choices that they made because of their addiction. And through that experience, my eyes were completely open to the opioid epidemic and what was going on. So that ignited my passion for it," Friedrichsen said.

As project manager for Thrive Peer Support, she spends time in the community connecting residents to resources to help prevent drug overdoses.

"Our goal is to keep people healthy and alive until they're ready for recovery because if they're not here with us they can't make that decision for recovery," she said.

Every weekend, Thrive Peer Support gives Narcan, the life-saving drug overdose reversal drug, to communities with high overdose numbers. They also give out kits to people who use drugs.

"Fentanyl testing strip, sterile water and some other kind of safe use things."

Friedrichsen said their goal is simply to keep users alive by offering them the testing kits so they have a chance to one day get clean. This is especially important as overdose cases have quickly risen during the pandemic.

"Nobody is going to get into recovery until they're ready. It has to be a personal decision. And so, people are using substances and dying every day. So it really is a crisis right now. And by having these resources for people, we give them at least the opportunity to live another day and choose recovery, which is always our ultimate goal."

Other organizations partner with Thrive Peer Support for their giveaways. People can also get free groceries and other resources.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office recently released information that shows 69 people died from overdoses in March. 

If overdoses continue at the rate they're going now, the county could see around 700 overdose deaths this year, the medical examiner's office said.

If the trend continues this will be the highest number of overdoses the county has seen since 2017 when 729 deaths were reported., officials said.