Write a commentAs fentanyl and opioid-related deaths rise across the country, Oswego organizations band together to decrease stigma and offer harm reduction training to residents.
The Oswego County Opioid Response Consortium was established in 2020. The consortium was a result of the county having the second highest opioid death rate in the region in 2017, said Virginia Bough, community health program manager at Oswego County Opportunities.
The consortium members, ConnextCare, Farnham Family Services, Harbor Lights Chemical Dependency Service, and OCO, meet on a Zoom call every month to discuss their efforts. However, Bough said that “anyone from the community is welcome to attend.” Local nonprofits like the VOW Foundation and the Desens House are heavily involved.
“One of the first things we did was a community needs assessment and gap analysis,” said Bough.
From this, a strategic plan was created that provides step by step instructions on how to encourage and support the provision of Substance Use Disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery services within the county.
Bough said that the consortium’s biggest challenge is stigma.
“When we started, the stigma kept us from understanding what was actually happening in the community,” Bough said. “It’s something nobody wants to talk about. It has been the most single most significant barrier. Stigma affects everything from us coming together as a consortium to implementation.”
The sentiment is echoed by the president of the VOW Foundation, Teresa Woolson. “Anyone can overdose, at any time, at any age,” Woolson said. “Doesn’t have to be someone using illicit drugs.”
The consortium is working on a media campaign to reduce stigma that will address the words used to describe addiction, as it is a medical condition, Woolson said. She is personally offering a program called Community Conversation on Stigma, starting May 5.
Stigma also feeds into misconceptions about naloxone, a treatment that reduces opioid overdose and is commonly known under the brand name Narcan. Woolson primarily focuses on Narcan training within Oswego County. Since January, she has trained 128 residents. When people first receive training, most come “knowing absolutely nothing” about Narcan, and are not aware that it is a “simple, easy way to save a life,” she said.
Bough said that one of the rising populations to receive naloxone training are the elderly, as they are prescribed more opioids than other demographics. The older population is often concerned with protecting their pets from accidental opioid consumption. “You can give naloxone to a dog,” Bough said.
Other misconceptions about naloxone typically revolve around a general misunderstanding of opioids, including the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Bough said that some are hesitant to receive training, out of fear of contacting fentanyl as a first responder. “Fentanyl can be in the air or touching your skin” and will not cause harm when administering aid.
Epidemiologist Meghan Tice encourages everyone to carry naloxone, as “more than 70% of drug use fatalities involve fentanyl overdoses.” Tice said there is an increase in younger people purchasing opioids on social media. Drugs purchased online “that you don’t know where they come from, are the most likely to have fentanyl.”
Woolson will go anywhere in the county to train residents, and typically partners with another nonprofit to offer additional education. The training is meant to allow room for discussion on addiction, prescription overdoses, and chronic pain. Alicia Vann of the Desens House has a background in physical therapy and chronic pain management. She frequently partners with Woolson on community outreach.
At the Desens House, Vann serves as director of resident life. Vann said they are a “faith-driven resource specifically geared toward women,” that offers a community aspect severely lacking in recovery efforts. Their events bring those in recovery together with “safe people,” and always offer food, coffee, and “low level asks.” The public is welcome to participate in their free activities, including exercise and art classes, book discussions, and dinner and lunches in the celebration of recovery. “We're all struggling with something, so let's just walk through this together,” Vann said.
The consortium’s needs assessment identified a lack of recovery supportive housing, especially for women in the county. The Desens House is scheduled to open its residency program in late April to early May. Four beds will be available for local women, with two dedicated to those in recovery. Unlike an emergency shelter, Desens House is a long-term program. The women can stay for 12 to 18 months.
The OCORC is federally funded because of the overdose crisis, Woolson said. At their monthly meeting, a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area officer provides stats on overdoses in the county based on available data. Data collection is challenging, as overdoses treated with naloxone by first responders do not always get counted in the data. Woolson, however, believes that the consortium is reducing harm in Oswego County.
