‘My community is still suffering’: Lincoln sees six overdose deaths in two weeks

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Lincoln Police Department alerted the public to six overdose deaths in Lincoln on Wednesday, all of which happened within a two-week timeframe.

Some Lincolnites say, as shocking as this information may sound, they have experienced the type of tragedy before, like Regina Sullivan.

“It hurt my heart. It’s hard to hear, it’s hard to see that my community is still suffering from this. I call it a plague,” said Sullivan.

She lost her son, Marvin Lee, to an overdose in 2023. Shortly after, she started the non-profit Marvilee to help families affected by substance abuse.

Sullivan says that combating this drug dilemma takes a group effort.

“I was raised by the village, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve noticed that it’s not so much anymore. So, now it’s time for all of us to village up again and get with our youth and our community so we can be great,” she said.

Marvilee partners with other Lincoln groups, such as Centerpointe, Stop OD Nebraska, and the Wellbeing Initiative.

Tasia Brumagen is the lead training coordinator there. She knew five of the six overdose victims.

“You see people come in and out of recovery, and sometimes you don’t know what happened to them until you see their name in an obituary,” said Brumagen.

Having overdosed twice before getting sober, she recalls the despair that people with an addiction can feel.

“We felt hopeless. We felt unwanted by our family. We felt anger. We felt trauma. The things that we have felt that we didn’t feel comfortable talking about in spaces, we can talk about that here,” said Brumagen.

She trains peer support specialists at Wellbeing Initiative by promoting empathy.

“How about asking someone how they’re doing or how you can support them, instead of just, you know, shaming them. They get enough of that,” said Brumagen.

LPD said an investigation into these deaths is well underway and still active.

“Part of that investigation will include autopsy results and toxicology reports, ” said LPD Spokeswoman Erika Thomas.

“Which will help give us more insight into the substances used that cause these overdose deaths. Six, especially in a short timeframe, is a lot, and one overdose death is one too many.”

Marvilee says they will host a fundraiser on May 30 at Antelope Park and plan to award scholarships for peer support training through the Wellbeing Initiative.