“We’ve got an epidemic within a pandemic,” says Kevin Mahoney with the Mountain Area Health Education Center. Social distancing, job losses and drug contamination associated with COVID-19 have all complicated local efforts to manage the impacts of opioid use.
![Buncombe County Health and Human Services staff and volunteers at mobile syringe distribution](https://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/SSPOutreach2-330x440.jpeg)