Culpeper Overdose Awareness

In The News

Heroin Overdoses, Deaths Continue to Fall in Culpeper Region

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This good news brings hope that our region is making progress in it’s efforts to help those struggling with addiction.

Once a month Culpeper has Narcan training which provides FREE Narcan nasal spray to participants.

We know we still have a long way to go, but the fact that death rates are down – even if that is because Narcan is readily available – shows that we are moving in the right direction.

This article by Allison Brophy-Champion shares some of the latest statistics: “In 2018, there were 29 deaths in this region, 34 in 2017, 44 in 2016 and 14 each in 2015 and 2014. In the past seven years, 146 people have died from using heroin in the area covered by the task force.
(The number of area overdoses is likely higher, as they do not take into account local hospital data, which is not readily shared with law enforcement.)”

Interested in finding out more about Narcan?  Come to a training!
Feb 13th 6pm CULPEPER www.cayacoalition.org/revive/
Feb 18th 6pm MADISON www.rrcsb.org/revive-training/
Mar 26th 6pm WARRENTON www.rrcsb.org/revive-training/

Read the full article at the Culpeper Star Exponent

Our Addiction Epidemic

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Article: “Feds to let states tap opioid funds for meth, cocaine surge”

One thing we seem to be really good at is focusing on one problem at a time.
In our efforts to combat the staggering number of opioid deaths in our country, other issues are often put on the back burner.  A recent study outlined the rise in alcohol related deaths, and as we have put more restrictions on the availability of opioids, meth and cocaine deaths have increasingly been on the rise.

We need to get a handle on our opioid problem.
But also our benzo problem, our cocaine problem, our alcohol problem.
But really – we have to face the fact that we have an ADDICTION PROBLEM.

An addiction to the numbing effect that substances bring – not feeling pain – not having to deal with reality – an addiction to the feeling of not feeling.

We cannot begin to make a dent in any of these problems until we focus on the underlying reasons why, until we treat the co-occurring mental health struggles, provide community supports like safe affordable housing, second chance employment, long term treatment, recovery support, and implement intensive K-12 prevention programs for our children.

These are highly complex, complicated issues with no easy answers, but Culpeper is making progress!

Want to know how you can help?  Check out our UPCOMING EVENTS page to learn about opportunities to make a difference in your community.

And read the Article: Feds to Let States Tap Opioid Funds for Meth, Cocaine Surge

Article: States have so many foster children they’re putting them in detention centers and hotels

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Though he’s never been convicted of a crime, Geard Mitchell spent part of his childhood in a juvenile detention center, at times sleeping on cement floors under harsh fluorescent lights left on through the night during lockdowns.

He attended high school by clicking through online courses and had “no one to talk to but the walls” because of restrictions on phone calls. He attended group therapy with teens accused of rape, when what he really needed was grief therapy to process his mother’s death.

Daily life became so torturous that Geard scratched up his face to look like a methamphetamine addict, hoping that “they would transfer me to somewhere more normal, like rehab.”

Geard’s only crime was being a foster child in an era when a surging number of biological parents are falling into the grips of drug addiction and child welfare systems are struggling with a shortage of foster parents.

Read the Full WASHINGTON POST Article Here

Addiction Resources make Top 10 local stories of 2019

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2. Culpeper’s heroin plague persists, but hope is on the horizon

Abuse of heroin and other pain-numbing opioids continued to plague the area – and country – in 2019, with Culpeper County remaining in the upper tier statewide for associated overdoses and deaths.

But even amid the hopelessness and suffering that come with drug addiction, hope is emerging as community groups collaborate on solutions.

At its first meeting of 2019, the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a permit to open the area’s first long-term drug treatment center. Mountain View Community Church is leading the push for the facility, called Christ-Centered Addiction Restoration Services, or CARS, on a 39-acre horse farm off U.S. 15 south of town.

The church, which holds weekly RESTORE support groups, is working to raise $900,000 to open the place while CRUSH – Community Resources United to Stop Heroin – remains active in that mission. A collaboration of various community agencies, CRUSH held various events in 2019 including an Opioid Epidemic Town Hall in January at which Warrenton Town Councilman Sean Polster dubbed our region “the epicenter” of the deadly problem.

[Read more…] about Addiction Resources make Top 10 local stories of 2019

Opioid Ripples: Part 4

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Stigma still stymies some efforts
in opioid battle

Not even death ends the ripple effects of stigma,
In some ways – it’s even intensified.

The last installation in this 4 part series focuses on stigma and how it affects those in recovery and their families.
I was thankful to be a part of it, and help spread awareness that this stigma still continues for family members even after an overdose death has occurred.  

Read the article at Fauquier Now or read PDFs of the entire series from the
Piedmont Journalism Foundation

 

Opioid Ripples: Part 3

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Tactics evolve in battle against opioid abuse

Capt Ray Akors and Sheriff Bob Mosier

Read more of journalist Randy Rieland’s research into the local response and how it is helping break the cycle . . .

Law enforcement agencies in the region are taking on a larger role in teaching their communities about a crisis that few saw coming, and with a focus more nuanced than it would have been 10 years ago.

“We try to teach it’s a brain chemistry issue,” Fauquier sheriff’s Capt. Ray Acors said. “It’s not that someone’s a bad person. Their bad behavior comes out of their addiction. It’s a Jekyll and Hyde drug.”

Chief Chris Jenkins of Culpeper thinks addiction prevention doesn’t get the attention it merits. He has both professional and deeply personal reasons for feeling that way. Five years ago, his 26-year-old son, Jordan, who had become addicted to prescription medications, committed suicide. “I actually think prevention is as important as law enforcement now,” he said. “And it’s the part people kinda forget about.”

Mr. Jenkins said a complicating factor is that it’s usually up to local communities to develop their own prevention programs.

“Look, we already have our hands full for the next 10 to 15 years dealing with what’s happened. If we don’t focus on addiction prevention now, we’re going to get another whole segment of our community dealing with it.”
Read the FULL ARTICLE at FAUQUIER NOW or download a PDF at the Piedmont Journalism Foundation

Opioid Ripples: Part 2

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Opioid addiction recovery a slow and painful journey

Journalist Randy Rieland highlights just how challenging overcoming an addiction can be.

Caroline Folker with her beautiful daughter Katherine

Brian and Caroline Folker had always thought Fauquier County was a safe place to raise their two daughters. After much research, they had picked it as the place to live after his transfer from London to a job in Vienna.

But, it seemed like unnecessary cruelty to have Kathrine die not long after a stint in an addiction recovery center, after being buoyed by so much relief and hope. Through their terrible ordeal, the couple learned one of the awful realities of addiction. Most addicts relapse. Multiple times. Even after they receive treatment.

Kathrine had been in the Edgehill Recovery Retreat in Winchester for only two weeks when she left. She told her parents she was afraid she would lose her job if she stayed any longer. She also told them she would be fine.

“It turned out to be a perfect storm,” Ms. Folker said. “My anxiety-ridden, naïve, follower of a daughter, very easily influenced and living in a time and place when this epidemic hit. She might as well have had a bull’s-eye on her back.”

Read the FULL ARTICLE at FAUQUIER NOW or download a PDF at the Piedmont Journalism Foundation

Running For Their Lives

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Come As You Are (CAYA) hosts their annual RUN FOR YOUR LIFE 5K

The Fauquier Times ran a piece highlighting some of the reasons why this 5K is so important.  The race raises awareness to the lives we’ve lost to our addiction epidemic, and shares that hope and help are available.  Both my Joe and his friend Isaac were remembered and we are grateful their stories can be used to help others.

Come out to the race Saturday September 21st and help us Run For Their Lives!
Read the remembrances and more about the 5K:  Running For Their Lives

Run for Joe
8/8/2019      Joe Fleming was the life of the party. This tender-hearted young man, whose 25th birthday would be in three days on August 11, used his wit and humor as a mask to cover underlying depression.
His humor was also a source of frustration for his three brothers, “Joe would always make me laugh about whatever it was that he did wrong and it got him out of a lot of trouble,” recalls his mother Dee.
The outdoorsman had a healthy relationship with nature. Joe was a hunter but also cared deeply for wounded animals. “Joe had a deep respect for nature. He would hunt for deer meat, but if he found a wounded animal, he felt compelled to care for it and nurse it back to health,” Dee explains of the bunnies, birds and dogs that Joe would come home with.
While he didn’t fit the image that most people have of a Christian with his beard and camouflage, Joe lived the life of a Christian and was always looking out for his fellow man. “Joe would befriend anyone who appeared to be lonely and help those in need however he could,” says Dee.
Home-schooled through high school, Joe was involved with sports and loved the routine and schedule of football and rugby. He felt lost and overwhelmed when the regimented schedule ended after high school and he looked to his future that was yet unwritten. He worked in a warehouse and used his time off to work part time at Buffalo Wild Wings.
While still in high school, Joe suffered football injuries that were managed with opioids. These prescription drugs introduced him to the feeling of not feeling. After he recovered from his injuries, he began to drink heavily and smoke pot to cope with his anxiety and depression. Nearly a year after Joe moved out of his home, he overdosed on a combination of cocaine and fentanyl; just 84 hours after his best friend died from an overdose. “I stood at his friend’s viewing to give my condolences while my son’s body lay on the other side of the wall,” recalls Dee of the surreal moment.
Since Joe’s death, his family has become outspoken advocates of eliminating the stigma of addiction disorders and implore families to have open conversations with their children about healthy coping skills for depression and anxiety.
“Even if I knew the outcome, I would still choose to be Joe’s mother,” says Dee of the loss of her entertaining son.
What are coping skills?
We often talk about making sure youth have coping skills for anxiety and depression. But what are some examples of those coping skills? The following list was complied with input from members of the community and is not intended to replace professional advice. If you or someone you know is overwhelmed with feelings of anxiety and/or depression, please seek professional help.
  • Becoming involved with a sport or other fitness
  • Trusting an adult to be a confidant
  • Journaling and sharing it with a trusted adult
  • Meditating
  • Spending time in nature, with a pet or horse (pet therapy)
  • Engaging the guidance department at school
  • Sticking to a schedule or routine
  • Taking a break from social media
  • Reading books with characters in similar situations
  • Receiving acupuncture

Opioid Ripples: Part 1

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Piedmont’s opioid crisis ‘has touched everyone’

This is the first of a four part series by Journalist Randy Rieland, produced jointly by two independent, nonprofit civic news organizations, the Piedmont Journalism Foundation and Foothills Forum. 

The opioid crisis has not just claimed more than 700 lives in Virginia’s Piedmont region during the past decade, but has also shattered families, taxed law enforcement and social services, stressed first responders and health care professionals and shredded the fabric of communities that never saw it coming.

And, for the generation of children being born to addicts, or into families with opioid abuse, some true ramifications may not be known for years.

Read the FULL ARTICLE at FAUQUIER NOW or download a PDF at the Piedmont Journalism Foundation