Groups Detail Work to Aid Substance Abusers, Families

CREST HAVEN – “Every small step we make is a step in the right direction,” is how Freeholder Kristine Gabor opened the “Faces of Addiction” seminar Dec. 10. It was the fourth in a series of family forums to reach those with and suffering from substance abuse. About 40 attended.
The effort to help has gained momentum since the first seminar was held Sept. 5, 2013.
Lighthouse Church in Burleigh was moved to act, said Robin Hetherington, as she addressed the gathering in the freeholder meeting room.
An eight-minute video, “The Face” produced by church members featured local people touched by addiction speaking of their experiences. The video was shown at the outset.
Gabor said Lighthouse Church wanted to show, “The fight against drug addiction crosses all barriers and that faith-based communities play a vital role in the effort. Keep in mind, this film was created by a church. Not all people are religious. We are not asking all people to be religious, but there is a sense of spirituality that we found with a lot of people who have found the pathway away from addiction.
“Whether you have a religious aspect in your life or not I think this is a very valuable message,” said Gabor.
One Face
Hetherington is a administrator of, C.U.R.E., the group formed by Lighthouse Church. Hetherington told how “nearly 70 gathered Feb. 23, 2014, at the church and decided to do something about the growing heroin epidemic in the community. Its phone number is (609) 778-2009.
“We were trying to engage this idea of trying to do something to address the need for recovery, meet the needs of those struggling with substance abuse, and those that love them,” she said.
“We asked ourselves some hard questions: How many deaths by overdose does it take before a community will rise from its slumber and say, ‘This is enough?’
“How many sons and daughters are dying from substance abuse, and how many parents have to bury them before the community reaches out to the families with help and support? Too many have died, as we know, and the effects of addiction have really destroyed and ravished so many families in our community.
“We asked ourselves how many more headlines do we have to read that announce another loved one was taken by heroin overdose before change is made.”
Hetherington continued, “In 9.5 months since that meeting with 70, which has grown to about 80, this new addiction recovery ministry has grown. They have formed C.U.R.E., Christians United for Recovery. We have a place for people to come to get help, support and the comfort they need.
“We are here to help save lives and to restore families. C.U.R.E. is comprehensive and devoted to serving those struggling with addiction and those who love them. We offer a wide spectrum of services street level interdiction assistance as well as support groups,” Hetherington said. C.U.R.E. has no detox program, rather it gives assistance to help others get into detox.
The group’s mission is to help people change habits and behaviors directing them to resources and ministries.
Most families are blindsided when they discover a loved one is caught in substance abuse. That was one reason the group sought to gather as much information as possible about local resources to assist families and those in need of help with substance abuse.
“Our goal includes addressing spiritual and emotional needs with Gospel solutions with the work and word of Jesus Christ,” she continued.
She further noted a majority of C.U.R.E. members have personal experience with devastating effects of substance abuse in their own families. They’ve united in an effort to extend aid, healing and hope to those in the community and that’s what will be found in C.U.R.E.
The group has three teams, Hetherington said.
Helping Team meets with families and individuals in crisis to help with hard decisions when a crisis first happens.
Healing Team facilitates workshops for those in recovery and those who love them. That gives the process of healing time to start.
Hoping Team supports loved ones and those in bereavement “so hope can be renewed.”
A voice-mail phone line, manned by a trained staff is available and has helped about 50, Hetherington said.
Hope dolls are given to children in families struggling with substance abuse to show them someone cares. Those dolls are available to purchase to support the endeavor.
“Our prayer is that churches in the community will rise up and join us so it is truly Christians united, not just one church,” Hetherington said.
“Every church has its own resources, its own people, and its own outreach services that help contribute to our community. We could help other churches form a C.U.R.E. Our desire is to unite everyone to bring help, healing and hope to those struggling with drug addiction,” she concluded.
Prosecutor’s Report
Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor’s update was filled with numbers. Each represented a human and a family affected by substance abuse.
So far this year in-county there have been 112 overdoses. Of those, 17 were fatal. Of overdoses, 78 were male, 34 were female. In nine instances, Narcan, administered by police saved lives.
That nasally-administered drug, Taylor said, was purchased for each police department in the county by drug forfeiture funds, not taxes. “We took money from drug dealers to buy something to help people that are overdosing,” he said.
“These are not hard and fast numbers, some numbers are not reported to Cape Regional. There are a lot still in denial that is not a wise idea,” Taylor added.
Those who may have a relative living at home who is known to have a substance abuse problem may wish to ask their physician for a Narcan prescription in case the person overdoses.
Statistics based on municipality: 31 overdoses in Lower Township, highest in the county, next highest was Wildwood with 25, 20 in Middle Township, eight in Ocean City, six in North Wildwood, three in West Wildwood, three in Upper Township, two in Cape May, two in Wildwood Crest, two in Sea Isle City, and 10 that could not be classified because information was received from the hospital or emergency medical services.
The largest age groups affected are 21-25 and 26-29, but, 18-20 is “right up there,” Taylor said.
“This is affecting young people,” he noted. His office has evidence drug dealers have approached children of middle-school age. Some of them may have already started experimenting with opiates, he said.
Once hooked, youngsters soon find themselves unable to pay $1 per milligram on the street.
That is when drug dealers may offer heroin for $3 to $5 a bag, Taylor said.
“A novice user can become addicted with one or two uses,” Taylor said. That is largely due to the purity of the drug.
PRIDE Committee
Demise of Sea Isle City’s school left its board of education with “a couple million dollars,” said board President Dan Tumolo. The board decided to “do something in education because we are in the education business.”
Enlisted was Cape Assist to formulate an educational program that could be taken to all schools in the county in grades 7, 9, and 11.
“Not everyone answered,” Tumolo said.
A survey of pupils in those grades resulted in one big surprise: Parents are the ones in need of education about the drug epidemic.
Youngsters as young as seventh grade “were not that well-tuned in yet, they knew about it, but seventh grade had not gone through and developed sources,” Tumolo said.
“My parents don’t have a clue,” wrote one seventh grader. That made the group ask, “Are we educating the wrong people?”
Another girl responded that her brother was an addict, but their mother either refused to believe, or did not see the signs of addiction.
“This year, in conjunction with the prosecutor we are trying a program to educate parents what to look for, what the culture is.” Tumolo said there would be a conference for them in six or seven months.
His group is also working with the prosecutor’s office in its “Pills to Heroin” program that is available to all schools in the county.
Steered Straight
Michael DeLeon (see related story about his presentation to Wildwood Middle and High Schools, elsewhere in today’s edition) produced a movie, and visited 38 states telling his anti-drug message.
Heroin is a national epidemic, he said, not just in Cape May County or New Jersey.
He lauded New Jersey’s efforts to administer Narcan to overdosed individuals, and added that its very possession is illegal in Tennessee.
His school program, which deals with the importance of making correct choices, and of the severity of using drugs, silences many assemblies, he said. After those presentations, students ask many questions, and teachers have told him that students talk about the presentation long after he is gone.
DeLeon sees the heroin problem growing worse in the nation in the future.
While some believe schools are not the proper place to teach drug-related consequences, DeLeon reminded “Educators are quasi-parents who educate and raise kids.”
Hope All Day Recovery Center
Chris Macomber, founding member and CEO of The Hope All Day Foundation, which operates a recovery center in Atlantic County, saw the need for such a place for those recovering from substance abuse. He is a person in long-term recovery that has not had a drink of alcohol or drugs in 13 years.
“I am the face of hope in recovery,” he said.
He realized that especially young people seeking to recover need a place to mingle and relax in a drug-free atmosphere. After talking over with his wife about the dream of having such a facility, they formed a “true, grassroots 501 (c) (3) organization. “Nobody gets paid. We get no federal funding, we are self-supporting by donations and in-kind contributions,” he said.
“We are the tool that closes the window. There is someplace to go for clean and sober activities. We have pool tables, dances and people creatively express themselves,” he said.
“What does a 19-year-old heroin addict do after treatment?” he asked. Often, such people are faced with stigma that includes inability to get a driver’s license or knowledge how to complete a job application, he said.
In addition to working with those directly in recovery, the group has a support group, MOMS. That group, Making Our Moms Stronger, is for those with children in recovery.
The facility is located in Egg Harbor City.
Parent-To-Parent
Tonia Ahearn said, “We are all making a difference. We are trying to do something together.” The group’s mission is to help access quality, affordable, comprehensive treatment services so that no one is denied the opportunity to seek recovery.
The group was founded in 1998 by four mothers, three of whom lost sons to drugs. The group’s telephone number is (856) 983-3328.
Update
Gabor provided an update on the 2014 activities that were developed through sub-committees created at three previous forums. Accomplishments included identifying issues facing loved ones with substance use disorder – Prevention and Education, Treatment and Recovery Support.
In the area of Prevention and Education, it was felt that many adults in Cape May County were unaware of the extent of the problem with heroin and how it starts with opiates that are often in their own homes. A brochure was drafted that contained facts about prevalence, how the problem started, what can be done by the individual, what to look for if you think someone is using and resources for help.
With the help of Cape Assist, 20,000 copies were printed in English and 10,000 in Spanish. They are being distributed throughout the county.
In the area of treatment, the interest was clearly in lack of beds. Although the committee understood that concern, there was not much that it could do in the short term.
There was a discussion about the lack of access to treatment in Wildwood and Lower Township and the need for Vivitrol on an outpatient basis. Through external funding, treatment money was found by Cape Assist for Wildwood and by Families Matter in Lower Township.
The county applied for a mini pilot project to provide Vivitrol and one month sober living house rent to at least five county residents. “I know this seems like it is not a lot of people, but a shot of Vivitrol costs $1,000 a month and it is usually given for six months,” said Gabor.
In 2015, a protocol for accessing that drug will be established and the search for more funding will continue.”
Additionally, in the area of treatment, there was much discussion of the aspects of medically-assisted treatment which is the use of Vivitrol, Suboxone and methadone to help in recovery. To promote a common understanding of the impact of these drugs on the brain, a conference on medically-assisted therapies was organized.
Finally, the Recovery Support Committee sponsored a small pilot Resource and Recovery Fair in which Drug Court clients and others in treatment were invited to participate.
Vendors included banking, medical services, dental services, employment, recovery support and alternative treatments such as massage.
Overdose Statistics
In 2013, the county had 104 overdoses and 25 related deaths.
In 2012, Cape May County had the highest rate in the state for substance abuse admissions, according to a county release. From 2009 to 2012, the rate of admissions for heroin treatment for 18-to-25 year-olds increased by 155 percent in the county.
Individuals interested in getting involved with the process can volunteer for committees that will be meeting again starting February 2015. For information, contact Pat Devaney, director, Cape May County Department of Human Services at (609) 465-1055.