Dear Community,
September is National Recovery Month, and each year it offers an important opportunity to recognize what is at the heart of Live Tampa Bay’s work: recovery is possible.
It is a time to celebrate the individuals who are building lives in recovery, recognize the families, peers, professionals, and communities walking alongside them, and continue challenging the stigma surrounding substance use disorder.
This year, National Recovery Month carries particular significance for Live Tampa Bay.
When our coalition was established in 2022, we set an ambitious goal: reduce opioid overdose deaths in the Tampa Bay region by 50% in five years. At the time, overdose fatalities had reached devastating levels following years of increases, and achieving that kind of reduction was intentionally a bold target.
At the 2026 Annual Leaders Luncheon to End Overdose, we shared just how far this community has come.
The opioid overdose death rate across Tampa Bay has declined by 46.6%.
We are now approaching our original 50% goal ahead of the five-year mark and have returned to pre-pandemic overdose levels. Since the height of the epidemic, we estimate that this progress is equivalent to approximately 1,200 lives saved.
Those numbers deserve to be celebrated. But more importantly, they represent people—parents, children, friends, coworkers, and neighbors—who remain part of our communities today.
The progress extends beyond declining fatality rates. Live Tampa Bay and our partners have reached more than 1.5 million residents across all eight counties in our region and provided direct care to nearly 19,000 individuals. More than 1,300 lives have been saved through overdose reversals, representing an estimated $126 million in direct cost savings.
None of this happened because of one program, organization, or sector. It has taken hundreds of leaders and partners working across healthcare, behavioral health, recovery, law enforcement, government, business, faith communities, and philanthropy. Together, we have strengthened connections throughout the system of care while shifting greater attention toward recovery services rather than relying solely on emergency intervention.
Recovery Deserves to Be Celebrated
National Recovery Month reminds us that our work cannot only be about preventing the worst possible outcome. It must also be about helping people build healthy, meaningful lives and creating communities where recovery is visible, supported, and celebrated.
That is why I am especially excited about our upcoming Recovery Night with the Tampa Bay Rays on September 16.
We look forward to bringing people from across Tampa Bay together for an evening that celebrates recovery and the people who make it possible. Events like this help move recovery into the community, where individuals and families can see that they are part of something much larger.
Visibility matters. Every time someone shares their recovery story, supports a loved one, connects another person with resources, or simply chooses to speak about substance use disorder without judgment, we help chip away at stigma.
Our Milestone Is Not the Finish Line
As encouraging as our progress is, we also know there is much more to do.
Tampa Bay still experiences approximately 20 overdose fatalities per 100,000 residents, and our region continues to face challenges related to access to behavioral health professionals, affordability of care, and the broader personal and economic consequences of substance use.
Reaching our original goal should therefore prompt us to ask a new question: Where do we go from here?
Do we work toward returning overdose fatalities to pre-2013 levels? How can we address overdoses beyond opioids? Where can we make the greatest difference for populations at particularly high risk? And how do we continue to strengthen a system of care that supports people not only during a crisis but throughout treatment, recovery, and long-term wellness?
These are questions our coalition will continue exploring with the leaders and partners who have made our progress possible.
National Recovery Month is both a celebration and a call to keep moving forward.
We have seen what can happen when Tampa Bay comes together around a shared mission. Now, we have an opportunity to build on that momentum.
I invite you to continue the mission with us—by participating, partnering, advocating, sharing resources, and helping create communities where recovery is supported and no life is lost to addiction.
There is more work ahead. And together, we can continue saving lives.
Yours in service,
Jennifer Webb, CEO
