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Local data: fentanyl continues to drive overdoses as homelessness and housing shortages persist
Summary
Brevard Prevention Coalition and Brevard Homeless Coalition reported rising polysubstance overdoses driven by fentanyl, ongoing jail and EMS outreach, and a housing shortage with a Jan. 22, 2026 point-in-time count planned; emergency shelter buses will add 60 beds countywide.
Representatives at the TIP meeting described overlapping crises: rising overdose complexity and persistent housing shortages.
Terrell Melvin of the Brevard Prevention Coalition said EMS reports showed 584 overdoses and 27 fatalities in Brevard as of Aug. 18, 2025, compared with 1,100 overdoses and 35 deaths in August 2024. "Fentanyl remains the leading driver of overdoses," Melvin said, and he warned that polysubstance use — often meth combined with fentanyl — is increasingly…
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