The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Portman hears about fight against addiction
Federal funding helps local agencies
Lorain County programs to combat opioid addiction are getting some results, but the fight is not over yet, said local officials dealing with the effects of addiction in the community.
On May 31, Republican Sen. Rob Portman gathered with more than two dozen people in Avon Lake to hear about how federal grant money is paying for programs that aim to save lives and help people get into recovery programs.
Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board of Lorain County led the discussion.
The morning started with news that it appeared the drug addiction efforts could be having an effect.
From the start of 2018 to April 8, Lorain County posted 21 drug overdose deaths, down from 48 in the same period of 2017.
The figures were based on counts by the Lorain County Coroner’s Office.
However, local law enforcement and health workers explained some opportunities and challenges working to help addicts get into treatment.
Discussion ranged from the availability of prescription drugs and opioids, to the lack of information available about overdoses due to medical privacy laws.
Portman said he took notes on the issues.
He sponsored legislation known as the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act, or CARA.
It included $500,000 for the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board of Lorain County to partner with first responders to help those overdosing on drugs.
Portman also helped secure $588,000 in funding through the bipartisan 21st Century CURES Act for Lorain County to fight opioid abuse.
The federal money has helped the county Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board work with
law enforcement officers to form Quick Response Teams in Avon Lake, Elyria and the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office.
When they learn of overdoses, law officers and counselors attempt to meet with the people involved and their family members to extend an invitation to get help.
Since the teams started this year, the agencies have logged three visits in Avon Lake, eight in Elyria and 18 around the county through the Sheriff’s Office, said officers from the respective agencies.
Wellington police Chief Tim Barfield said the approach of arresting people over and over, only to have them get out of jail quickly, was not working.
Since March 2016, a better plan has been to create LINC, or Local Initiative for Network Compassion, a community effort to help people seeking treatment options.
The Wellington Police Department is open to people seeking treatment options, Barfield said.
Participants who come to the Police Department are paired with trained volunteers who arrive within 15 minutes to sit
with them while calling Let’s Get Real Inc., a Vermilion-based nonprofit recovery community organization, to figure out a course of treatment, he said.
Since it started, Wellington police have assisted more than 60 people, Barfield said.
After an hour of discussion, Portman said he took away “a lot” of information and concerns.
“One is understanding better how the CARA and CURES funding is being used that I can now emulate in other communities,” he said.
“As I mentioned, Lorain County’s got a drug problem, no question about it, otherwise so does every county in Ohio,” Portman said. “But here, people are organizing and coordinating in a way that’s impressive.
“You heard about their quick response teams. They have taken the money from CARA , which is my legislation, and used it, not just to supply NARCAN to police officers, which is part of the grant, but to take it to the next level, which is, OK, once you apply the NARCAN, then what happens?
“That’s a good example for the rest of the state.”
Portman referred to the drug, also known as naloxone, used to counteract the effects of opioid overdoses and revive victims.
Apart from federal funding and community programs, the group sat in silence as Lindsay Bowman of Wellington described her family’s struggles as her son, Logan, survived a heroin overdose.
At times, Bowman’s voice choked with emotion and she said she did not like to discuss the situation publicly, but did so to help others.
She explained her family’s story in a video posted on the Facebook pages of the Wellington Police Department and LINC of Lorain County.
The group gave Bowman a round of applause.
“You will help save lives by what you’re doing,” Portman said.
In Congress, Portman is sponsoring the CARA 2.0 Act, a bill that would “provide additional resources to help turn the tide of addiction, and put in place policy reforms that will strengthen the federal government’s response to this crisis,” according to his office.