WTF IS HAPPENING IN GREENVILLE, SC?
When I heard that Hayden Panettiere died in Greenville, I wasn’t surprised - and it didn’t have anything to do with her. Her death made me want to say something about what’s happening here, and her death is not mine to use. In my experience, the number of untold tragedies in Greenville among my generation seems to outshine what many of my peers from other communities have experienced. This has been a reality in the Upstate for as long as I can remember, and we need to talk about it.
This is bigger than one death
Greenville, sc, my beloved hometown, holds so many untold stories of overdose and tragedy. While the number of overdose deaths is trending down in South Carolina, the impact of addiction in this community has felt overwhelming. Between 2015 and 2023, 1,188 people died from opioid-involved overdoses in Greenville County. That’s more than 1,000 people in one county in less than a decade.
And these numbers aren’t the whole story. Overdose statistics only count overdose deaths; they don’t reflect the number of deaths where substance use may have played a role, like long term effects of alcoholism, withdrawals, impaired driving, or suicides where substances were involved. They also don’t reflect the countless lives impacted by the loss of these friends and family members.
I am a full blown millennial, born in 1991, making my high school years something that a lot of Gen-Z’ers and Gen Alphas romanticize or villainize nowadays. While we had good aka shitty music and a lot less internet connectivity, the number of deaths of friends makes it difficult for me to reflect on these times with uncomplicated nostalgia. For better or worse, my experiences with drug and alcohol dependence have led me to become the trauma and addiction therapist I am today.
My personal connection
My sister and I have had a list saved in our phones since notes in phones were a thing; it’s a list of friends we’ve lost to addiction, mental health, or other related tragedies. My list began when I was around 15 years old - around 2007. We haven’t had to keep these lists to not forget these people - we would never forget them. It’s become a way to morbidly track the wake of addiction in our communities. It’s important to note that our lists do not overlap much, if at all, and both are in the double digits.
This issue has been a huge part of my life since I was a teenager, and until I left Greenville for college, I didn’t realize that this was abnormal. I thought everyone had a list of dead friends. No one I am close with who grew up outside of Greenville has a list like this. What a gift for them.
My closest friend died from a fentanyl overdose in 2022. The details of her death are complicated, and they aren't mine alone to tell. Since I moved back to Greenville the year after she died, I visit her and bring her flowers - sometimes real, sometimes fake, sorry girl - whenever I can.
I visit my best friend at the cemetery.
As people stereotypically say, her memory is a blessing, and it’s also so fucked up and annoying that she’s not here to grow old with me and my new family. I listen to the curated playlist our other best friend and I made after she died to remember her - I’m listening to it right now (The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 in case you were wondering. link to listen at the end).
Listening to the music she essentially raised me on can make her feel close for a moment. But these small close moments pale in comparison to the grief I feel at her absence. The warmth and comfort I would feel if I could call or text or send her a meme would be impossible to explain.
Why don’t we talk about this?
The age-old question, right? Why are these tragedies not spoken about? Why don’t people know about my friends and family affected by addiction? Before I try to answer that, I first want to give some credit to the younger generations we have in our lives right now. Gen Z has done a lot of work to de-stigmatize mental health and bring issues into the open. In this way, I believe that the “why don’t we talk about this” question isn’t as pertinent as it may have been earlier in this century - for that, as a trauma survivor and addiction therapist, I am eternally grateful.
That being said, the stigma that still surrounds addiction and mental health is wild, considering the impact it has across the board. Something they say in twelve-step programs is “There but for the grace of God go I”, which has many interpretations, and I mention it to illustrate the incredible truth that none of us are immune to addiction and its impact. Addiction exists in gated communities and shelters. It exists in wealthy families and poor families. It exists in schools, hospitals, churches, and very likely on your street.
And before you come for me if you read that last sentence as too “addiction doesn’t discriminate”, that does NOT mean that everyone is at equal risk. We know that factors such as poverty, discrimination, racism, trauma, housing instability, access to healthcare and insurance, and incarceration play a role in the development of addiction and its consequences. Having family help and support, insurance, money, and access to treatment can be the difference between life and death.
Both things can be true. Addiction can touch anyone, and some people are much more vulnerable to its consequences because of circumstances and systems largely outside of their control.
When we don’t acknowledge the reach of addiction, we allow ourselves to separate from the issue: “That’s not me. That’s not my family. That’s not my problem. That couldn’t happen here.” Except it is happening here. And while the person living in the multimillion-dollar home and the person living on the street do not have the same risks, resources, and safety nets, neither is immune to addiction or overdose.
So instead of distancing ourselves and pretending like this isn’t happening, let’s give this issue the attention and seriousness it deserves. Let’s stop making caricatures of who we think addiction happens to and acknowledge that it’s happening to people.
People we know. People we love. People in Greenville.
People on lists on our phones.
What Greenville can actually do
The honest truth is that people are not going to stop using drugs. We know this - civilizations have used intoxicants throughout recorded human history. Even squirrels like to get fucked up. I believe that based on our current systems, harm reduction is the quickest, “easiest” way to begin making an impact. And it’s very, very important to note that overdose deaths are moving in the right direction. South Carolina has now seen two consecutive years of declining overdose deaths, alongside expanded access to naloxone, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery resources.
According to the South Carolina Department of Public Health, it offers free opioid overdose kits “containing naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote, as well as fentanyl and xylazine testing strips” at their health clinics.
In Greenville, you can get these kits at:
Greenville County Health Department
352 Halton Road, Greenville, SC 29607
864-372-3270
Open Monday through Friday 8:30 am - 5 pm*
*Check current hours before visiting. DPH currently suggests calling ahead to confirm kit availability.
If you’re outside the city of Greenville, use the DPH Clinic Locator to find a health clinic near you.
Authorities like employers, hospitals, and therapists (hi!) can also encourage outreach by discussing these concerns openly and offering safe places to share. Support groups, community events, and simply having naloxone on you can be the impetus for keeping someone alive.
What can you do? Go. Get. Naloxone. It’s free, and it is literally lifesaving.
for the people we’ve lost
If any of this resonated with you, let me first say that I am so sorry for your loss(es). I don’t like to say “should” much, and I can confidently say that we should not have had these experiences. Our friends and family members shouldn’t have died. And yet we go on because we have to and we want to live for them, too. For all of us who have visited their friends at emergency rooms and ICUs, or funeral homes and cemeteries, we’re not alone. We carry their names in our phones, tell their stories, listen to their music, bring them flowers, and miss being able to send them a stupid meme.
And we can also do everything we can to keep someone else from becoming another name on a list.
Carry naloxone. Talk about addiction. Pay attention. Love people who use drugs while they are still here.
I visit my best friend at the cemetery.
I hope fewer of us have to.
for her:
Sources & Resources
South Carolina Opioid Treatment Dashboard
Greenville County opioid-related overdose data, including county-level mortality statistics.
South Carolina Department of Public Health — Drug Overdose Deaths
Current South Carolina overdose mortality data and statewide trends.
South Carolina Department of Public Health — Naloxone Distribution & Opioid Overdose Safety Kits
Information about free naloxone, fentanyl test strips, xylazine test strips, and overdose safety kits available through DPH health clinics.
South Carolina Department of Public Health — Public Health Clinic Locator
Locations and contact information for DPH health clinics across South Carolina.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Achieving Health Equity Around Overdoses
Information about disparities in overdose deaths and the social, economic, and structural factors that affect overdose risk and access to treatment.