Heroin coalition adds tools

“We have more tools to offer people than we did last year,” said Thom Grim, executive director of the Miami County Recovery Council.

The first public activity for the coalition was the July Hope Over Heroin event at the county fairgrounds during which the heroin epidemic was highlighted and information on services and support provided.

Overdoses in the county declined for a time after the event, said Steven Justice, a local lawyer serving as coalition facilitator.

However, those numbers have increased in recent months.

Police are being trained in the use of Narcan with county sheriff’s deputies utilizing four Narcan kits since mid-2016.

Sheriff Dave Duchak said he encouraged by the coalition’s work so far.

“It has been a truly collaborative effort across a wide array of disciplines that usually would not interact that much with each other,” Duchak said. “I cannot speak highly enough of everyone who serves on the coalition. I am hopeful that the federal government begins to become more engaged on what I believe is a national health crisis.”

The social detox house for men opened in January in Troy. It can house up to five men at a time with help getting through withdrawal provided by professional staff.

The program also is using the Bridge device, a relatively new tool that attaches to the ear and signal to parts of the brain associated with withdrawal symptoms to block symptoms. “It doesn’t eliminate the symptoms but brings them way down,” Grim said of thedevice.

A Quick Response Team pilot project initiated in Troy last fall is made up of a police officer, firefighter/paramedic and an addiction specialist. The team visits those who have been revived from an overdose days after the incident to see if they are willing to enter treatment and counseling.

More than 90 visits have been made so far, with Grim saying the effort is “bearing fruit for us” at the Recovery Council.

Among other coalition efforts have been the production of a list of treatment and other resources for people looking for help and a school education and prevention program expected to be piloted yet this school year.