Thursday morning, Cambria County Drug Coalition leaders hosted their second public meeting to talk about the progress made and the hurdles to come, as they fight the county’s drug epidemic.

“You know, a year ago we thought there was no end in sight,” 7th Ward Ambulance Service Manager Mike Brawley said of the opioid crisis.

Brawley has been a paramedic in Johnstown for 40 years. Drug overdose calls are a regular part of the job. Over the past year, he said he’s seen a significant drop.

“We’ve averaged probably 31 calls a day, to now we do about 10 a month,” Brawley said.

Brawley said the change is because of the work by the Cambria County Drug Coalition. The group is made up of law enforcement, health care workers and prevention specialists.

“We really do have a lot of work to do,” said Ronna Yablonski, the executive director of the coalition.

Law enforcement officials are focusing on consistent drug arrests and prosecutions.

“I think we need to look at it as, ok what do we need to do first? Help our addicts or prosecute our drug dealers? And the answer actually is both. We need to do both simultaneously,” said Arnold Bernard, Cambria County Assistant District Attorney.

Conemaugh Hospital’s new warm hand-off program has helped 23 out of 42 overdose survivors get into treatment.

Despite improvements, Cambria County is still struggling. From 2015 to 2016, the county jumped from the 3rd to the 2nd highest per-capita fatal overdose rate in the state, higher than Philadelphia.

“When we look at the staggering statistics and the fact that lives still get lost every day. While we’re here. Lives are still affected by this,” Yablonski said.

“There’s just a lot of stuff going on that honestly I didn’t realize until today, the magnitude that’s going in to this epidemic,” said Brawley.

Coalition leaders said although the drug epidemic can be overwhelming, it’s important not to get disheartened.

Anyone can help by volunteering, donating money or attending coalition meetings.