Horizon Behavioral Health CEO Melissa Lucy speaks to the Appomattox Town Council during Monday night’s meeting. Image: Charles Conrad/Times Virginian

Horizon Behavioral Health CEO Melissa Lucy spoke to the Appomattox Town Council during Monday night’s meeting to discuss the current drug problem in Appomattox County, namely fentanyl, and how Horizon has been attempting to tackle that and mental health issues locally.

Two fatal fentanyl overdoses were reported in Appomattox County in 2020, and one in 2021, which Lucy said is “significant” for an area of this size.

Since 2019, there have been six fatal prescription overdoses, excluding fentanyl, reported to the Virginia Department of Health, and eight fatal overdoses from any drug reported since 2020. In 2020 alone, five in the county died from suicide.

Lucy also reported that in Horizon’s service area (which includes the counties of Appomattox, Campbell, Amherst and Bedford, and the City of Lynchburg), the percentage of people who have reported that their mental health is not good has tripled since 2018.

Lucy attributes much of the increase in drug usage and mental health issues to easy accessibility of drugs, increased stress from world circumstances, and social isolation.

There’s more to this in the current issue of the Times Virginian newspaper. Support local journalism by purchasing the issue at a local newsstand or subscribing at www.timesvirginian.com/subscriber_services to receive the print edition or view the full article in the e-edition version.