Council Considering Steps to Address Opiate Addiction
From left: City Councilor Paul Camuso, Medford Public Schools Nurse Supervisor Toni Vento, Lead Physical Education teacher Rachel Perry, and Mystic Valley Regional Public Health Coalition’s Brook Hoyt.
– Allison Goldsberry
The Medford City Council is considering creating a task force and an ordinance for a substance abuse prevention coordinator position to address opiate addiction.
According to City Councilor Paul Camuso, there have been three heroin overdose deaths in Medford in March, and five since January. Medford’s Board of Health Director Karen Rose said Hallmark Health is treating three to four people who have overdosed everyday.
Those alarming statistics were brought up Wednesday night during a special meeting of the Council to discuss the opiate addiction problem and its effect on the community. School and city health officials, the Police and Fire Chiefs, police officers, a representative from Armstrong Ambulance, the Jail Diversion Program’s Cheryl Delafano, and concerned community members came together to discuss the issue and specific steps the city can take to help.
Rose said that there are “huge gaps” between the preventative measures that are in place, such as educational programs about drug abuse in schools, and actual treatment and recovery for people who become addicted to substances. She said the state has good treatment facilities but lacks the capacity to accommodate the growing number of addicts. Rose said she knows people who have had to go out of state for treatment. A woman with a son in a recovery program said she had no choice but to send him to Florida since she was unable to find a spot for him in Massachusetts.
The “lack of beds” issue was something that several people indicated was a frustrating problem. A woman who is a recovered alcoholic said detox[ification] is not enough to put someone on the road to recovery; treatment is needed beyond the medical response.
“The nature of addiction is not to be able to wait,” she said, noting that when there is an opportunity to help an addict it can easily be lost when it takes too long to get help or there is no help available at all.
If created, the substance abuse prevention position would help families connect to the right services. The task force, according to Rose, would bring together “stakeholders” such as parents, public health officials, law enforcement, EMS, and others to address the opiate addiction issue.
The Council will discuss an ordinance to create the new position at its next meeting on Tuesday, March 24. The request to establish a task force should be before the Council within the next few weeks.
City Council president Fred Dello Russo, Jr. said Wednesday was “not our last meeting” and several people expressed a strong desire to have a larger community meeting about opiate addiction and how members of the community can come together to help.
In related news, Medford Overcoming Addiction is holding a vigil on Sunday, March 22 at 5PM at Medford City Hall in remembrance of people who have lost their lives to addiction.