By Matt Boggs
It’s no secret that West Virginia leads the nation in drug overdose deaths. According to recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the rate of drug overdose deaths in our state was 52 per 100,000 in 2016. This is more than double the national average. Loved ones and communities across the state have felt the debilitating effects of drug use, the related property crimes and the economic burden imposed by this public health epidemic.
A Statewide Epidemic
Drug and alcohol use and abuse have always been a social issue, but with the rise of opioids, addiction has become a highly debated topic due to the fact that every socioeconomic class in the state and nation has been affected. The children of the next generation are often left to the care of their grandparents or shuffled within the foster care system and often experience trauma that puts them at risk to develop a substance abuse problem later in life.
However, what is often left out of the discussion about this epidemic are the strategic initiatives being deployed in various communities that aim to make recovery possible for the men and women suffering from this disease. These strategies include efforts to decrease communicable diseases, engage people who are active in substance use and abuse, expand access to treatment and improve recovery support.
Many of the initiatives currently operating are controversial due to a societal stigma surrounding people with substance abuse disorders. Common refrains that surround the drug epidemic include, “Let them die,” “Three strikes and you’re out,” and “Throw them all in jail.”
Would we say that about individuals who have led an unhealthy life when presented at the emergency room with their fourth heart attack? No, we would not. We would demand that they receive life-saving medical attention, offer a path to treatment and build a comprehensive plan to reduce the probability for a reoccurrence.
What about the person who smoked two packs of cigarettes per day for over 30 years and developed lung cancer? We don’t chastise the person. In fact, we as a society build cancer treatment centers, offer a treatment plan covered by insurance, pump billions of dollars into clinical research studies and provide support groups for patients and their loved ones.
“Substance use and recovery-related causes receive dramatically fewer donations to support underfunded programs, support services and research in comparison to other diseases such as cancer and heart disease,” says Lara Lawson, director of development at Recovery Point West Virginia. “People often ask why this is, and it is tragically due to the stigma surrounding the disease. The people who give the most are the people who have lost the most—usually, their children.”
Funding Recovery
West Virginia has implemented harm reduction programs in various areas and recently awarded more than $600,000 to 11 health care entities to reduce communicable diseases in our communities. Reducing the harm to the individual and community is the primary objective, but it also allows for recovery coaches, health professionals and faith leaders to engage the person and offer a pathway to treatment. Harm reduction—while often controversial—does not attempt to minimize or ignore the harmful effects of illicit drug use. Rather, what it does is offer nonjudgmental support, reduce communicable diseases through syringe access and education and offer a pathway to recovery.
Recovery coaches are an essential piece of any treatment regarding substance abuse disorder. In addition to ensuring individuals have access to housing, employment, medical care and support, the role of a recovery coach also provides emotional, informational, instrumental and social support through the addiction recovery process.
“Having a person with lived experience—one who has been there and done that—to help guide others is critical to making the transition from a life of active alcoholism/addiction to a life of recovery,” says Greg Perry, Recovery Point West Virginia’s director of recovery support services. “Over the last 200 years, the advent of peer-to-peer support has been a game-changer for those wishing to end a life of substance abuse and begin a life of recovery, support and hope.”
Last year, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Medicaid Services submitted the SUD 1115 Waiver and was approved, which created an opportunity to be reimbursed for peer support services, or recovery coaches. This funding will enable the state to create a new workforce and opportunity for people in recovery that offers support and guidance all based on the lived experiences of the recovery coaches.
Housing Those in Recovery
Recovery housing in West Virginia serves as a safe, recovery-conducive environment post-treatment and allows the person to slowly reintegrate back into the workforce and their families while building a support network that is essential to long-term success. Over the last few years, a multitude of houses have begun operations across the state. What is lacking is the necessary structure and coordination to ensure safety, meet health codes and assure tenants that basic operations are consistent with the best practices as outlined by the National Alliance of Recovery Residences Levels of Care.
While there are groups working to establish a West Virginia alliance of recovery housing organizations, it lacks the funding to bring a credible structure to a much-needed service in our communities. For example, Florida has developed a specialty task force to investigate unscrupulous recovery housing owners and recently arrested 28 owners.
West Virginia should continue to work on developing a recovery housing alliance to reduce the chance of unscrupulous proprietors taking advantage of those individuals and families seeking to break the chains of substance abuse and enter the world of recovery.
A State of Determination
At times, the problem can seem overwhelming, especially when faced with the daily news of drug overdoses, babies who are drug-exposed prenatally and crimes directly associated with drug-related activity. However, West Virginia has a significant opportunity to show the nation that our problem will not define us and that we have the resilience to overcome it.
The initiatives across the state speak to the determination of our people to navigate from the treacherous waters of shame, stigma and hopelessness into the many pathways for our citizens to regain their lives. Our recovery as a state is much like the one people in addiction face. Recovery is difficult, and it takes persistence to maintain it.
If we provide hope, take simple suggestions and allow those in recovery already who have navigated the dark path before help us find a way out, we will prevail. We have to. Our children are counting on us, and the world is watching.
About the Author
Matt Boggs, BBA, PR, executive director of Recovery Point West Virginia, manages four separate, long-term residential substance abuse recovery facilities across the Mountain State. He is certified as a peer recovery support specialist through the state of West Virginia and has served in various roles at Recovery Point, including project coordinator of a statewide peer recovery training class and director of development. Since Boggs was named executive director, Recovery Point has become the largest peer-to-peer recovery provider in the state, providing more than 360 long-term recovery beds, transitional/permanent housing and outreach recovery coaching in multiple settings. He serves on numerous committees aimed at promoting prevention, treatment and recovery, including the West Virginia Certification Board of Substance Abuse Professionals PR Credential, Cabell-Huntington Harm Reduction program, Cabell County Quick-Response Team and West Virginia Alliance of Recovery Residences.
