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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As the opioid epidemic continues across the country, those in Bullitt County are doing their best to make sure others don’t become statistics.

A few dozen people met Saturday at the Hillview Government Center for the annual Big Purple event. Community members, medical professionals and those who have loved ones battling addiction joined the Bullitt Opioid Addiction Team (B.O.A.T.), a nonprofit organization that provides communities and families with solutions to prevent overdosing. 

"Alcohol became my nemesis," said Tom Noonan, who also battled an addiction with drugs. "Took me quite a while, but I got blessed and been sober 21 years. I am here because someone was there for me."

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Dr. Mike Kalfas, an addiction specialist and one of the keynote speakers at the event, said drugs like NARCAN are being used to help treat overdoses at increasing rates, though some are still hesitant to administer it.

"When you make a decision to not NARCAN a person who is not breathing, they are not going to wake up," Kalfas said. "You have a person who is going to die, that can’t recover." 

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Counter narcotic devices were handed out in first aid kits to those who attended Saturday so they can be better educated in the event the devices need to be used.

Over the last two and a half years, more than 63,000 people have died as a result of opioid overdoses. The number of overdose deaths is slowly beginning to decline because of the resources and accessibility of reversal drugs, which is encouraging to doctors.

"We are actually starting to see a slight but a definite downward trend in the overdose numbers. We are starting to see people survive them," Kalfas said. "We have a lot to do, but at least it’s going in the right direction."

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