For years, we’ve read saddening stories in newspapers like this one about the horrific effects of the overdose crisis on Hoosiers. Stories about lives lost, families torn apart and communities grieving.

But in mid-May, we read a story that wasn’t sad. A story that gave us hope. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed preliminary 2023 data showing overdose deaths decreased in 2023. Here in Indiana, we saw an 18% decrease in deaths from substance use disorder.

But this decline — while incredibly positive — isn’t the full story. Historically, even when death rates have decreased for other demographics, Black Americans have seen their rates continue or even skyrocket. This happened from 2021 to 2022 when white Americans saw a decrease of 3.3% while death rates for Black Americans increased by a full 7.5%.

A 2020 study also discovered that the steepest increase in overdoses in recent years has been among younger urban Black Americans, closely followed by younger rural Black Americans.

Our communities also face other disproportionate impacts from the overdose crisis.

Even though Black and white Americans use drugs at the same rate, we’re almost four times more likely to be incarcerated for drug use. We also typically have higher arrest rates for drug-related crimes. Black communities have less access to treatment for substance use disorder, with research showing a mere 8% of those who died from an overdose engaged with substance use treatment at any point in the past.

Overcoming substance use disorder is a grueling, uphill battle, one only exacerbated by these persistent inequities in incarceration, treatment, and health outcomes.

Ending these disparities won’t be easy, but the work has already begun. Across America, advocates and policymakers are working to pass laws and policies addressing the overdose crisis and its impact on Black Americans.

In Congress, there is robust bipartisan support for the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act and the Reentry Act. The former would increase access to methadone, which is (A) one of the most effective medications to help people recover from substance use disorder and (B) the medication most likely to be available to Black communities.

Meanwhile, the Reentry Act would grant incarcerated individuals the opportunity to start receiving Medicaid benefits 30 days before their release from prison, giving them a runway to return to society while receiving treatment.

Another key policy is expanding access to syringe service programs. Designed as a bridge to medication-assisted treatment, these programs provide opportunities for people to access and dispose of sterile syringes. The data shows these programs are enormously effective: Compared to people who don’t access syringe service programs, people who do are three times more likely to stop using drugs and five times more likely to enter drug treatment.

We’ve seen the success of these programs firsthand here in Indiana, and syringe service programs nationwide could help people find the treatment they need.

Enacting these laws and policies will require a groundswell of support from both the public and lawmakers, but that won’t happen if Americans are unaware of the overdose crisis’s disproportionate impact on Black communities.

This isn’t to say we should ignore positive trends like the recent decline in national overdose deaths. Quite the opposite. We should celebrate wins when they come — because every win means more lives saved, more families made whole, and more communities healing.

At the same time, we can’t ignore the progress we still need to make. Reporting on positive trends while raising awareness of the impact on Black Americans is tricky but not impossible. By finding this delicate balance, mainstream media can help advocates and policymakers solve this urgent crisis and save Hoosier lives.

Dr. Jerome Adams is executive director of health equity Initiatives for Purdue University and a former U.S. surgeon general.