Dear John, Stop the Stigma...
My name is Olivia Oden. I am the Director of United in Recovery. I was disheartened to read the negativity from some community members over the outdoor NaloxBox project in Bloomsburg Town Park. Working in this field, I have heard the rhetoric many times before. However, we must acknowledge there is a crisis in our communities.
Our team works to reckon with this crisis and respond accordingly.
United in Recovery is a program under the Susquehanna Valley United Way. We fight to advance progressive public health initiatives and partner with organizations to promote policies and effective treatment that support individuals with addiction. We work to reduce harm, empower recovery communities and offer stigma reduction education.
We break down access barriers so that every person has the education and tools they need to help a friend, loved one, or person in a crisis.
The opioid epidemic took us by waves in the 1990s and 2000s and evolved into an overdose epidemic. This nation has seen unprecedented deaths in the past few years. A perfect storm of a drug supply that includes fentanyl and xylazine, the trauma and isolation of COVID-19, archaic policies and stigma are creating damage. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pennsylvania is the third highest state in overdose deaths. We lose 14 Pennsylvanians daily. In 2020, we lost 5,168 lives to overdoses.
While the statistics are devastating, there is hope. In Pennsylvania, there are over 800,000 individuals in recovery. People can and do recover. A recent study published by the CDC found 3 out of 4 people in active addiction recover. I find beauty in that. I also find beauty in carrying naloxone. You never know when you may meet someone in a crisis, and you can be the one to save that person’s life.
There is an antidote available that is easily accessible at absolutely no cost to our communities.
United in Recovery has never and will never use tax dollars or United Way donations to fund our naloxone program. We receive naloxone through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s Naloxone for First Responders Program. This program allows organizations, first responders, and harm reduction organizations to access naloxone in bulk at no cost.
Launched in 2017, the commission‘s program provides free naloxone to organizations and individuals who may encounter someone experiencing an overdose. Together with the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency uses federal State Opioid Response funds for the program. Those response funds have made naloxone available to the commission and, in turn, to organizations and programs like ours. We then distribute it to community members, other organizations, and facilities.
According to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, entities have distributed 214,514 kits to organizations and an additional 265,308 kits of naloxone directly to organizations serving high-need communities through the Naloxone for First Responders Program since 2017. More than 22,815 overdose reversals were reported using state-purchased naloxone.
That is 22,815 lives saved. 22,815 Pennsylvanians with friends, families, partners, and children. They are individuals from all walks of life, every economic and social class, and every community. They are you, and they are me.
In our work, I have always believed that education and empathy are key to understanding another person’s journey. Questions I ask myself are “how do we teach empathy? How can we teach kindness?” Why don’t we want better for our neighbors and loved ones? If we can save someone’s life in minutes with a simple nasal spray, why wouldn’t we want to give them that chance?
Addiction does not discriminate. We are all human beings worthy of love and respect. Let’s start showing it to one another.
Save lives. Carry naloxone.
Sincerely,
Olivia Grace Oden (she/her)
Director of United in Recovery, CRS
Susquehanna Valley United Way
e: uir@svuw.org