'Drugged': Inside the opioid crisis

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Pilot program helps incarcerated people address opioid addiction before being released

The MAT: Behind the Walls program focuses on improving the lives of imprisoned people. “We are concerned about the drastic amount of overdose and the high rates of opioid deaths after release,” says Chantell Jewell, superintendent of the Milwaukee County Correctional Home. (Photo from the Adam Carr archive)

As Milwaukee County moves at a pace that could eclipse last year’s record high of 545 drug overdose deaths, a new approach is being developed to help save the lives of a group that is among those most at risk: people recently released from the criminal justice system.

“We are concerned about the drastic amount of overdose and the high rates of opioid deaths after release,” said Chantell Jewell, superintendent of the Milwaukee County Correctional Home. “We’re willing to look at different ways to address the needs of our populations here, and sometimes that involves a certain amount of risk and doing things we’ve never done before.”

Jewell refers to the pilot program of the Behavioral Health Division of Milwaukee County called MAT: Behind the Walls. MAT means drug-assisted treatment, a proven, but sometimes controversial, approach to treating opioid addiction. This treatment includes injections of Vivitrol, a drug used to block the effects of opioids administered four months before a person was released, said Liz Schwartz, a case manager for the program. Participants can receive up to three injections, he added.

Planning for the program, which is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Assistance Justice), began in 2019, although the pandemic was delayed somewhat. The MAT approach has been adopted in court facilities across the country, including the Dane County Jail in Madison.

Along with the medication, inmates meet weekly with a counselor and a specialist who has experienced addiction. This treatment, including Vivitrol injections, continues after release, which also allows participants to meet with the same specialists with whom they established a relationship while imprisoned, he said.

“The combination of medication and support is a key element for the program to be successful,” Schwartz said.

To date, 47 inmates of the House of Correction have completed the program and 15 are current participants. It is also offered to people moving from the Milwaukee Safe Detention Center, he said.

The program seeks to save lives. Numerous research studies have highlighted the high risk of drug overdose for the readmission population. A study in North Carolina found that during the first two weeks of release, people who were previously imprisoned were 40 times more likely than the general population to die from an opioid overdose.

“People released would re-use the same amount they did before they were imprisoned,” Schwartz said. “They didn’t realize that their tolerance had changed and that the dose was very high and they would die.”

This is significant considering that 70% to 75% of the Corrections House population reveals a substance use disorder at the time of sentencing, Jewell said.

Part of helping individuals avoid a fatal overdose is working with equality specialists to develop a safety plan, said Amanda Rodriguez, head of community programs and integration of community medical services. This strategy involves training Narcan and identifying someone in the person’s home who can help in an overdose situation.

“We ask them who is the safe person in your environment to explain what an overdose is like and who will throw Narcan down your nose,” said Rodriguez, who added that each participant will be provided with a Narcan kit upon leaving.

Community medical services, along with Wisconsin community services, are two local organizations that support treatment while they are imprisoned and after they are released. Other partners include Wellpath and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

These efforts come as Milwaukee County continues to fight to stem the tide of drug overdose deaths.

The macabre pace continues

This year, from January 1 to September 15, 321 deaths from drug overdoses were confirmed, with 106 cases pending, according to data provided by Karen Domagalski, head of operations at the office of medical examiners of the Milwaukee County. Tragically, the number of deaths increased monthly during the first five months of the year, with 40 occurring in January up to a maximum of 60 in May. That month, there were only three days in which no overdose death occurred.

The single deadliest day this year was March 29, when an overdose of six people was made, including two who died together of fentanyl and cocaine toxicity in a North Side home, and two homeless. . During the same period last year, there were 414 deaths from drug overdoses.

In addition to reducing drug overdose, the main goal of MAT is recidivism, Jewell said.

“People often have criminal behavior to support drug addiction,” he said. “If we are successful, there will be a decrease in opioid use and, with it, a decrease in criminal behavior.”

Schwartz said the program has given hope to some participants.

“A lot of them tell me they felt lonely and that no one cared,” he said. “They are grateful for the help they receive and want to be better.”

Where you can get help

Drug treatment services in the Milwaukee area are available at the following locations:

• Gateway to change

• Comprehensive treatment center on 10th Street

• Rogers behavioral health

• West Milwaukee Comprehensive Treatment Center

• First step community recovery center

• Meta House

• West Allis Community Medical Services

•United Community Center

In case you missed it: NNS Spotlight: “People are bigger than the mistakes they have made”: how a woman wants to transform the judicial system

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Descent into opioid addiction captured on video

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The photographer covers addiction and recovery in the Ross County community

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CHILLICOTHE – While living in the Philippines for three and a half years, independent photographer and filmmaker Eli Hiller documented harm reduction efforts amid extrajudicial killings of drug users.

When he returned in May 2020, he wanted to take advantage of this experience and apply it to the small town of Ohio.

“I really realized there was a lot of isolation, the emotional and mental toll of the pandemic continued for everyone. But I was somewhat curious to see how vulnerable communities were affected,” he said.

Hiller said he was in Circleville while doing research and was told that Ross County had a strong community of people pursuing harm reduction, a set of practical strategies and ideas designed to reduce the negative consequences associated with consumption. of drugs.

In December, Hiller embarked on a project of more than seven months, yet to be completed, to show the struggles of addiction and recovery in Chillicothe, reducing the framework to a small community from the original vision of covering several cities of Chillicothe. ‘Ohio. .

At the beginning of the project, Hiller decided he did not want to show images of active drug use.

“They’re a bit of a visual cliché in the photojournalism industry, so I’m preventing them from further dehumanizing and criminalizing these vulnerable populations,” Hiller said.

Instead, he chose to focus on emotional issues of isolation, loneliness, sacrifice, grief, as well as camaraderie, care, empathy, and community.

Through the Recovery Center, the Athens-based photographer began establishing relationships with people in the community.

“They started introducing me to a lot of their customers who came to eat and I slowly started talking to people from outside, I followed them back to their camps and then I built those relationships for several months,” he said. .

Hiller said he was impressed with the strength of support systems in Ross County. “They’re really changing the narrative of the recovery aspect,” Hiller said, noting that recovery wasn’t always a straight, clean line.

“For them, as long as they can stop overdoses and prolong people’s lives, that does more than anything. And that’s really important, I think.”

The photo essay, intended to accompany an article written by a friend of Hiller’s, will likely end this month, Hiller said. The couple continues to publish the article, although the photographer claimed that Buzzfeed has expressed interest in the project.

Christina Arredondo, director of the Ross County Outreach and Recovery Center, gave a gesture of provisional approval, as anyone entering the recovery center is told to be respectful and told that if she talks to someone or takes pictures, be okay with the person you work with.

“It felt like I wanted to build relationships and really get to know people and their stories,” Arredondo said.

In the Philippines, Hiller worked with Filipino HIV lawyer Paji Angeles Jr. to create “Kemikal Romance,” a film about ‘the invisible victims of HIV and the drug war’ in a country where LGBTQ activity is very stigmatized.

He is currently working on a project that covers his stepbrothers across the country and the quest to find his father, as he and his half-brothers were born through a donor.

Do you have questions, comments, or tips about the story? Contact Justin at Jreutterma@gannett.com.

Follow him on Twitter @ jayreutter1.

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Source to Solution Addiction & Recovery Symposium on October 13 offers resources, information | KLBK | KAMC

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(Photo courtesy of Lubbock)

LUBBOCK, Texas (PRESS RELEASE): The following is a press release from the City of Lubbock:

On Wednesday, October 13, 2021, the Lubbock City Department of Public Health, along with city representatives and other community entities, will host the second Source to Solution Addiction & Recovery symposium at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center.

The one-day conference will address different aspects of substance use, from prevention to recovery, and their effect on the community and citizens. This event will feature dedicated law enforcement professionals, health care, treatment centers, academics, local recovery resources, as well as people on their own recovery journey.

The symposium will take place from 8:00 to 16:00. Registration is free and includes breakfast and lunch.

After the symposium at 6 p.m., there will be a fundraising dinner in honor of Dr. Carl Andersen in the Civic Center banquet hall. All proceeds from the dinner ticket will be donated to the Andersen Family Endowment Scholarship Fund.

For additional information and tickets for dinner, visit mylubbock.us/SourceToSolution.

(Lubbock City Press Release)

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