Official: Drug fight needs to build on successes

CHILLICOTHE – Creating an environment in which small successes build into larger ones is what’s needed in Ross County’s battle against heroin addiction, a representative from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office said Thursday.

“I think our (commitment) is going to be long-term, but I want to see some short-term results – things that we can do quickly to get some traction on some of these issues,” said Alisha Nelson, community outreach specialist in the heroin unit for the AG’s office.

Nelson met Thursday with representatives from organizations that included Ross County Community Action, the Adult Parole Authority, Paint Valley ADAMH, the sheriff’s office, the Chillicothe VA Medical Center and Common Pleas Court, among others. The intent was to get a handle on the extent of the problem in Ross County, discuss initial steps that have been taken and explore resources that are available so that a series of action steps can be created to attack the heroin problem locally.

Nelson is one of five members of the AG’s office assigned a particular region of the state to work with local officials on their drug issues, primarily from a community outreach, rather than law enforcement, approach.

“What our department brings to the table is creative and different ways outside of treatment – of course, treatment is a very important realm of it – to address the issues in the community,” Nelson said.

The process starts with conversations like the one held Thursday exploring what a community needs to be successful in its efforts. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach, she stressed, with each community having to be evaluated for an approach that’s right for it. In Wayne County, for example, there was general feeling that the faith community was not becoming involved enough in the drug fight. With some help from the AG’s office, a forum was pulled together that attracted more than 200 faith leaders and got them involved in becoming part of the solution.

“We think the faith community can play a major part in fixing some of the issues by supporting some of the families who are having a lot of trouble in the community,” Nelson said.

In another county, there was a feeling that another big town hall meeting was not what needed. Instead, the target was placed on providing better education for the medical community in terms of prescription practices and pitfalls.

A major focus of the discussion was on completing the search for a coordinator for the local Heroin Partnership Project. Ross County was selected by the state as a pilot site for the program, which features a collaboration of federal, state and local agencies to reduce heroin deaths. The effort received a $100,000 grant and will provide funding assistance, technical support, law enforcement support, treatment providers and prevention specialists to combat what is being called a heroin epidemic in the county.

Once a coordinator is named to help pull together all of the individual efforts to combat the problem, the focus can turn to the best way to handle outreach.

Teri Minney, with the Adult Parole Authority, said quarterly summits that used to be held primarily involving the medical community, those in recovery and those struggling with addiction and their families enjoyed some success, especially in showing those battling addiction that they weren’t alone.

“It turned into sort of a support system for families going through those tough times,” she said.

Drug take-back events and the distribution of Naloxone kits – which counteract the effects of a drug overdose if administered in a timely fashion – are also helping in their own ways, attendees at Thursday’s session indicated.

Nelson said the advantage of state agency involvement is that agency representatives get the opportunity to see what is working in all parts of Ohio, which can help uncover solutions for a community without having to reinvent the wheel. Cuyahoga County, for instance, has established a website that has become a one-stop shop for finding drug addiction and recovery resources, locating information on community events and meetings tied to the drug fight and providing other helpful information. Obtaining that web template and incorporating local information into it is one quick step that Ross County could look at adopting, she said.

Smith pointed out that no conversation about the drug problem locally should be held without incorporating human trafficking into it. Juni Johnson, with Paint Valley ADAMH, agreed, saying that a large number of young women who seek out help from her agency have had some involvement with prostitution.

Nelson, who was headed later Thursday to a sit-down session with some families touched by the drug epidemic, said she will soon be ready to move onto the next step.

“Based on our conversations here, based on the sheriff’s feedback, based on the (police) chief’s feedback, I’ll come up with a plan and then I’ll work with you guys to make sure that plan is implemented and that you have the state resources as needed,” Nelson said.