Overdose deaths among Black and Hispanic residents have risen sharply in Mecklenburg County over the past six years, and Black residents especially account for a disproportionate share of deaths. At the same time, overdose deaths among white residents have fluctuated. This week, WFAE is exploring the crisis.
A bonfire burned outside the Queen City Harm Reduction resource center in east Charlotte on a recent morning. Sitting next to the flames was Tim. Tim can remember what he used to feel like before turning to drugs.
‘Happy. I done a lot of activities like playing chess, listening to music,” Tim said. "Stuff that relaxed me, or go to a movie with a friend, or something. Just positive activities.”
Those nostalgic moments are things Tim said he wishes he could experience again. WFAE is only using Tim's first name so he can talk freely about his drug use. The 58-year-old says he started using cocaine in his late 20s. He recently picked back up.
“When I got laid off, I ended up starting back,” Tim said. "But it’s getting better now, where I feel like I can quit again.”
Tim said he’s making progress.
“I haven’t used (drugs) in three days — that’s good,” Tim said. "If I can continue to keep on doing that and surrounding myself with positive people. That’s a big plus.”
Turning to illegal drugs has affected Tim's relationship with his family. “It’s stressed it, a real lot,” Tim said. "They still love me, just sometimes when I’m in that mode of using drugs, they stay back a little bit.”
Tim is Black. He's part of a racial group that has been disproportionately affected by fatal overdoses.
- In 2019, there were 54 reported overdose deaths among Black residents in Mecklenburg County.
- That more than tripled by 2023, when there were 169.
Hispanic residents have also been hard-hit.
- In 2019, there were 11 reported fatal overdoses in the Hispanic community.
- That number rose each year till 2023, when there were 42 reported fatal overdoses in that community.
Leaning against a wall near Tim at the resource center was Alejandro. Alejandro is originally from Mexico. He slurped up some chicken noodles.
WFAE is only using Alejandro's, 43, first name due to his experiences. Alejandro has been attending Queen City Harm Reduction — which is housed in the 501(c)(3) agency Center for Prevention Services — for about a year. The resource center supports people like Alejandro who struggle with illegal substance use.
“I like it, and I'm still doing it,” Alejandro said. "I can't stop because it's addictive.”
Alejandro says he uses crack cocaine to feel good, relax and concentrate. To help tackle the crisis, the county is expected to receive close to $75 million over the next 18 years in opioid settlement funds to help with the opioid crisis.
Some of those funds are going to Queen City Harm Reduction. Inside the group's building, Lauren Kestner grabbed a bunch of supplies from a table. Kestner oversees the group, which also distributes Naloxone kits that help reverse overdoses. Kestner says they support about 6 thousand people annually. The majority of folks are from minority communities. Kestner also says there’s a reason why we see more fatal overdoses in Black and Hispanic communities.
“I think they are redlined from the access that other communities get to education, social services, to employment services, to shelter, it’s a historical trend,” Kestner said.
She also says there's a reason why they might not want help.
“If you look at what’s happening today, we're seeing ICE raids, we're seeing people afraid to go anywhere. Why would they show up at school? ” Kestner said. "Why would they go to their doctor's appointment when they can be taken away? If you're a Black person of Hispanic ethnicity, it’s not going to be that much different.”
Kestner is a person with lived experience with substance use
“I had way more help than other communities get. I had parents who could support my health care when I couldn’t,” Kestner said. "I had a home to stay in when I got kicked out. Things like that.”
She also says some community members have the resources that their Black and Hispanic counterparts don’t.
“We notice that our white program members are often the ones with transportation. If they don’t have a car, they can access the bus line,” Kestner said. "They have some education and literacy under their belt. I think you can assimilate more as a white person in America.”
In 2024, Black residents made up about 46% of overdose deaths in the county, even though they make up about 30% of the county's residents. White residents still make up a greater share of overall deaths — just over half, but the number of white residents dying fell in three of the past six years. For Black and Hispanic residents, the number rose every year until last year, when it fell.
Outside the resource center is Charlotte Lotte, 48. Lotte, who is white, says she’s been in Charlotte since 2016. She says medical providers played a role in her turning to illegal drugs.
“Initially, the doctors, writing me Percocet,” Lotte said.
Lotte says she was prescribed it for a back injury. She says she was on Oxycodone for about 10 years. She says she stopped using the pain pills for nine years until her daughter died.
“I didn’t want to accept it at all. Still don’t,” Lotte said. "But when I was on fent(anyl) it would numb it, and I wouldn’t have to think about it.”
Lotte says she is homeless. Her usage of the drug fentanyl has affected her relationship with her family, she says.
“A lot of my family still says I've got to be 90 days clean before I’m allowed back at their house because I've done stuff,” Lotte said. "I said things. I would nod off at restaurants, go to sleep drooling. They said, ‘90 days clean, and will accept you back.'”
Lotte says she’s been off fentanyl for 22 days. Each day is one day closer to potentially returning home to her family.
WFAE's Julian Berger contributed to this report.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include the full name of the nonprofit housing Queen City Harm Reduction, and to reflect the substance use of some of the people in the story.
