As he walks the streets of Milwaukee’s South Side in the middle of the night, Rafael Mercado fears he’s fighting a losing battle. “Things are getting worse here,” saidMercado, as he fended off pimps while other volunteers talked to prostitutesabout getting help for their addiction. Statistics show that Mercado — leader of Team HAVOC, a volunteer group that conducts needle cleanups, among other activities — is correct. If current trends continue, MilwaukeeCounty could record 423 overdosedeaths in 2019, its highest total in a decade, according to the medicalexaminer’s office. Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing! The most recent data shows 184 overdose deaths from Jan. 1 to July 26, with another 80 to 90 suspected cases pending toxicology reports. Those cases include 14 deaths that occurred during the last weekend in July. Not included is a body found last week in the bushes behind a gas station on South 20th Street and West National Avenue. Those statistics, and the reality of whathe’s seeing in the streets, paint a grim picture for Mercado, 49, the co-founderof MKE Heroin Diaries, a Facebook pagedevoted to increasing awareness and providing resources about opioids. Mercado conducts the majority of hisoutreach on the near South Side, which has become the city’s heroin hotspot.There have been 22 confirmed overdose deaths in the 53204 ZIP code and 10 in53215, adjoining areas on the South Side. Those aren’t the only Central Cityneighborhoods in Milwaukee that have been hit hard. Ten residents each from53206, 53208, 53209 and 53212 have also lost their lives to overdoses so far in2019. The victims are diverse — 91 are minorities compared to 93 whites. In fact, nearly 35 percent of overdosevictims were African American, and 12 percent were Hispanic. Seventy percent of the overdose victimswere men. In addition, deaths involving only cocaine comprise 13 percent of thefatalities, while opioids were involved in 82 percent, according the medicalexaminer data. The data shows that 140 deaths have occurred within the city limits, while 44 have occurred in the suburbs. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that officials said is commonly used as a cutting agent for heroin, cocaine and other drugs was involved in 58 percent of all deaths. A local and national issue The increasing number of opioid deaths inMilwaukee County was cited in a Wisconsin Policy Forum reportas a factor in the decrease of life expectancy in the state. Another report from RAND, a nonprofitglobal think tank, states that synthetic opioids like fentanyl are responsiblefor tens of thousands of deaths annually in the U.S. Just this week, the drug manufacturerJohnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $572 million to the state of Oklahoma fordownplaying the dangers of opioids and for overselling the drug. Ald. Michael Murphy, co-chairman of theCity-County Heroin, Opioid and Cocaine Task Force, has also recommended legalaction against manufacturers as a method to recover costs associated with drugabuse locally and to fund treatment. Michelle Jaskulski, director offaith-based initiatives for the Washington D.C.-based Addiction Policy Forum, said she sees anincrease in awareness and talk in Milwaukee about drug abuse and, morespecifically, the opioid epidemic. “But not a lot of action,” she said. Many addicts simply aren’t quitting despitethe dangers, said Jaskulski, who lives in Cudahy and became involved in themovement after experiencing her two sons struggle with addiction. The reasonaddicts ignore the dangers of using opioids, including fentanyl, is becausethey hijack the brain, she explained. “It makes your brain feel like you needthat drug like you need air or water,” said Jaskulski, whose organizationfocuses on education and bringing high-level science into discussions aboutaddiction. “It affects the part ofthe brain that makes rational decisions.” One man’s struggle Jonathan Martin, who grew up on the South Side, said he became involved in the drug and gang lifestyle at an early age. “I was always selling drugs, then startedusing drugs, then got addicted to Percocet and eventually heroin,” Martin said. Though he’s been clean for a year, Martinsaid it wasn’t easy. It took cutting off old friends, twomonths of intensive inpatient treatment and two more months of outpatientservice. He also experienced a spiritual transformation. “I gave my life to Jesus,” Martin said. “Sothe key for me was a lifestyle change and finding a higher calling.” He still runs into old friends and comesacross plenty of people who are addicted and struggling. But he has found thestrength to stay clean. “I have a whole different view anddirection in life.