Giving Compass' Take:

· Carla K. Johnson addresses a recently released U.S. government survey showing that progress has been made in addressing the opioid crisis and the number of new heroin users has dramatically decreased between 2016 and 2017. 

· How can philanthropy address the ongoing opioid crisis? What services should local communities offer for recovery? 

· Learn more about the opioid epidemic and how to address it.

Figures from a U.S. government survey released recently show some progress in the fight against the ongoing opioid addiction crisis with fewer people in 2017 using heroin for the first time compared to the previous year.

The number of new users of heroin decreased from 170,000 in 2016 to 81,000 in 2017, a one-year drop that would need to be sustained for years to reduce the number of fatal overdoses, experts said.

Fewer Americans are misusing or addicted to prescription opioid painkillers. And more people are getting treatment for heroin and opioid addiction, the survey found.

The Trump administration said the positive trends show government efforts are working.

Messages are reaching people about the dangers of heroin and the deadly contaminants it often contains on the street, Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, an administration health official, said in a video presentation released with the figures.

Read the full article about progress against the opioid crisis by Carla K. Johnson at U.S. News.