Overdoses are a growing epidemic in Carbon County.

In 2014, there were 635 overdose-related calls to police and EMS in the county; as well as 17 drug-related deaths.Because of this growing problem, officials are hoping to create a task force to investigate the matter further.Jamie Drake, acting director of the Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission, said that the idea for a task force came about after a number of county officials attended a statewide opiate symposium."As a result of attending the symposium, it has been determined that a coordinated approach to dealing with the opiate epidemic is crucial," she said.Drake recently announced that the county will be creating an Overdose Task Force and has invited agencies, communities and family members impacted by overdoses to attend the group's first meeting."We continue to experience an ever-growing number of overdoses in this county and need to work together to strategize plans to combat this issue," Drake said.The meeting will take place at the Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission's office, located at 428 S. Seventh St., Lehighton, at 9 a.m. Feb. 23. It will be a brainstorming session to work on possible initiatives that can be implemented to combat this problem in the county."We all need to work together to develop awareness of the opiate epidemic in Carbon County and develop interventions where we can work together to address this issue in our community in a proactive and positive manner," Drake said."We are losing too many young individuals to this disease and need to take action now."