By Doug LaRocque
Capital Region Independent Media
The opioid crisis is a national problem, but one that hits home all too often in the Capital Region.
An open panel discussion on the overdose and fentanyl crisis in the area was held last week with the goal of bringing the problem out of the headlines and into the hearts of those around us.
The discussion took place on Friday afternoon, April 12, in the auditorium of the Icabod Crane High School in Valatie, in Columbia County.
State Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-41, was joined by Assemblyman Scott Bendett, R-107, law enforcement and a physician to discuss the issue. Bendett said these forums “are a start.”
He said he hopes to hold more of these around his district as part of a program entitled “Finding Hope, ” sponsored by the minority caucus of the State Assembly. Bendett labeled the program as a way to continue the conversation.
He told those gathering at the school “if you think it doesn’t affect you, you’re wrong. It affects everyone.”
That includes the assemblyman. Bendett related the impact drugs has had on a close family member to hammer home his point.
Hinchey said she also has a connection with the opioid and fentanyl crisis. She said she knows of five people who have died recently in her district from an overdose. She called it “a real problem not only in the cities but in the rural towns” around her district as well. To emphasize that point, she noted there are 62 counties in the state, and Columbia County ranks 26th highest in the state for drug overdoses, Greene County is 34th.
That point was driven home even further by Columbia County Sheriff Donald Krapf, who said data collected from 2018-23 indicated the rural community of Philmont had the most drug overdose incidents in the county. The city of Hudson was second.
The sheriff said they deal with it every day. Not only from the law enforcement side of the department, but in the jail as well, where corrections officers have to work with inmates who suffer from various degrees of drug dependence. He called the work very stressful.
Statistically, the sheriff said the drug problem impacts those from 13 to 78 years of age. He also said it involves more men than women.
Treatment programs may not always work
That was the message brought to the panel by one woman, who said the popular 12-step program failed her son, who passed away from an overdose three years ago. She claimed programs that tout total abstinence are not the answer and promoted such facilities as “safe injection sites.”
Others speakers involved with recovery and rehabilitation spoke of the success of such efforts as the 12-step program created by Alcoholics Anonymous. It uses peer support to help people recover from substance abuse, behavioral addictions and sometime other co-occurring mental conditions.
Several others spoke about the impact drug addiction has had on their families, including the death of a loved one. They indicated the stigma attached to drug addiction was a real problem for those who would like to seek treatment.
Bendett agreed and said everyone has to work together to address the issue.
Hinchey said she is hopeful there is progress being made.
“For far too long, we have not had the ability to have these discussions,” Hinchey said.
Sheriff Krapf said communication is the key and that arresting people with substance abuse disorder is not the way to solve the problem. There are many out there who are not dealers or involved in drug-oriented violence.
But there are times, according to the sheriff, when incarceration is part of the answer, not only for the safety of the public but because “in such controlled atmospheres, we have a better chance of affording them a treatment program that will have success versus just releasing them back on the streets.”
There is always help available, panel speakers stressed.
But there, of course, lies the rub. Stigma, lack of resources, transportation and other factors get in the way of “you just have to ask for help.” All the panelists spoke about the availability of treatment programs that can be found in county health departments, community clinics and even law enforcement.
Programs can help not only with dependency, but also with the many other factors that lead to addiction.
