It seems odd, but a community’s growth can sometimes be tracked through its departures.

The Warren County Coroner’s Office released its annual report this week, which showed that Coroner Kevin Kirby and his team of deputy coroners worked 1,023 cases in 2025, the largest caseload since 2021 – a year marked by deadly tornadoes, soaring drug overdose numbers and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kirby said last year’s workload, an increase of 39 cases from 2024, tracks with an overall growth in the county’s population.

“Our caseload went up but as Warren County grows our caseload is also going to go up,” Kirby said, adding that while his office is currently down one deputy coroner until a new one can be hired, the remaining staff are more than able to handle their responsibilities.

The data in the coroner’s report can serve as a reflection of how our society functions in the present moment, and if we look at the figures in that light, we are heartened by a marked decrease in drug overdose deaths.

The report shows that 12 overdose deaths were recorded in 2025, down from 31 in 2023.

Kirby attributes that development to a decrease in the amount of fentanyl – a powerful synthetic opiate – diverted to the streets and also to the supplies of overdose-reversing Narcan carried by deputies in his office, as well as law enforcement, firefighters and EMS workers.

We applaud the efforts of first responders in helping to prevent further fatal overdoses and averting tragic outcomes.

A more discouraging figure is the 29 suicides investigated by the coroner’s office, up from 22 in 2024.

John Paul Reynolds, director of adult crisis stabilization at LifeSkills, said that food and housing insecurity, financial problems and other crises can exacerbate existing struggles with mental health, leading people to feel helpless and isolated and express a willingness to self-harm.

Fortunately, LifeSkills has worked recently to reestablish its mobile crisis unit, enabling skilled practitioners to meet clients where they are and offer help.

For those of us who don’t have clinical expertise and want to help our loved ones struggling with mental health, Reynolds said it is important to communicate compassionately.

“When we’re depressed sometimes we start to think we’re burdens or that no one cares, so it’s important for loved ones to give those words of affirmation and let them know we care about you, we’ve noticed a change in behaviors and we just want to understand what you’re going through, coming across as nonjudgmental and caring,” Reynolds said.

It cannot be emphasized enough that checking in on a loved one, while a simple act, can have a profoundly beneficial ripple effect.

We would also encourage anyone experiencing emotional distress to contact the free 988 Lifeline, a 24-hour service that connects callers and texters with a skilled counselor.