Joint Senate Task Force on Opioids, Addiction & Overdose Prevention
My first awareness of Heroin was in 1998, while working in a substance abuse program, I did a health assessment on a 14-year-old girl. She was a heroin addict. At 27, with two babies, I was stunned that a 14-year-old beauty could have been addicted to anything, never mind heroin. But as in all things that don’t affect you directly, my life went on. I was busy working as a Community Health Nurse while happily raising my boys, Zane and Max, in a progressive, don’t stick your head in the sand, way. Our family grew with all the usual joys and challenges until September 4, 2017, when my 22-year-old son died in my home of an opioid overdose.
I am going to repeat that: my son Zane, my beautiful boy, died in my home and I could not save him.
So here I am today, before you, humbled to be invited to speak to the NYS Opioid Task Force and I thank you for the opportunity to testify to this health emergency in our midst.
Timing in life is everything and in my son’s case, it was very bad timing. I called to get a substance abuse evaluation for my son during his winter break from Siena College on Christmas Eve, 2015, but I hit a brick wall. Family Navigators did not exist, treatment on demand did not exist, education about the recreational use of opioids did not exist. Perhaps if these things were available, I would not be here today.
In 2016-2017 there was the largest spike of opioid-related deaths in our state as synthetic opioids flooded the illegal drug market. Zane was Number 56 in Orange County, there were 76 people that died of an overdose in 2017. His autopsy revealed that he had 100% Acetyl Fentanyl and Xanax, no heroin. Synthetic opioids have changed the trajectory of recovery because when people relapse, they die.
I realized Zane was in big trouble about 2 weeks after he’d come home from graduation from Siena College as a Social Worker. He was evaluated by a Clinician at a county-wide outpatient treatment program and although he informed the counselor of his drug use history including opioids, she did not send him to an inpatient program. He completed the 6-week out-patient program with flying colors and he overdosed in my home 5 weeks later.
In my opinion, traditional outpatient treatment did not work for Zane, although when I shared his story with the Commissioner of Mental Health in my county, she said,” Zane’s treatment was a success, but relapse is part of recovery.”
I will never agree that a dead child is a successful treatment outcome.
As part of the solutions, outpatient programs that do not offer Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for opioid users need to be transparent that evidence supports the use of MAT and has a 50% higher success rate. Programs also need to inform families that after discharge the risk of overdose skyrockets as the person’s tolerance decreases. Narcan training needs to be part of a comprehensive discharge plan that also addresses aftercare.
Keep It Moving was born out of the shock wave of Zane’s sudden death. Keep It Moving is an organization that works under the umbrella of The Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan with the mission of assuring that Narcan is in every purse, backpack and first aid kit, and providing financial support for young people to stay engaged in healthy, life affirming activities to avoid the pitfalls of our culture: such as substance abuse, violence, and poor coping skills.
Since February 2018, Keep It Moving has done over 3,000 Narcan trainings in bars, street corners, churches, synagogues, fire houses, community days and businesses. Our grassroots program is part of the solution. We have given out over 300 holiday stockings to children in need in the Newburgh and Poughkeepsie areas. June 22, 2019, The First Annual Keep It Moving 5K suceeded in bringing a diverse community together for health and to raise money to support our efforts.
In the Spring of 2020 we will launch Into the Woods, a collaborative project with Wild Earth, providing an evidence-based nature program for 10-15 middle school students in the Newburgh area. Keep It Moving will do this without a funding source, as we are 100% volunteer-run and rely on donations from community members.
There are many things the Senate can do to help.
The Senate can make, grants available for little organizations that do big work. $5,000.00 goes a lot farther in a grassroots organization than a large million dollar not-for-profit. Keep It Moving can send 15 young people to the Into the Woods Program for $5,000. We need grants that are accessible to organizations that do not have expensive grant writers but do good work as part of the solution.
The Senate can secure monies for programs with creative treatment options that target 18-24-year-olds. Engaging them in treatment using technology, nature, physical activity, volunteering, and support without shame is part of the solution. New interventions need to start today. This epidemic will not peak until 2025 and too many people will die.
The Senate can provide funding opportunities to create services for outreach to families of an individual who has overdosed and survived. They need to have Narcan and know how to use it. Families affected by opioid addiction want to help their loved ones and keep them alive until they find recovery. Offering support to families without judgment or shame helps reduce overdose death by keeping the person who is misusing opioids connected to their families. Most people who die of overdose die alone. This is not a time to do what we have always done, it’s not working for a lot of people.
I thank you again for hearing my testimony today, as a mother, a nurse, a community member the founder of Keep It Moving.
