RICHMOND, Va. -- As the holiday season approaches, City of Richmond officials have issued a warning about the dangers of the substance use disorders and encouraged people to get help if they need it.
"These months can be very, very lonely at times and what we know that folks who are in recovery sometimes fall off the path to recovery, but we want to make sure that they're they get back on the path," Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said at an event Wednesday at the Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA).
While officials from the Richmond Police Department said they have seen a recent decrease in suspected overdoses they have responded to, RAA said they had seen an increase of 13% in the first ten months of this year (1141) compared to last (1006) and that is 409% when compared to 2013.
"The substances out there are really dangerous," Courtney Nunnally, a peer recovery specialist, said. "There's fentanyl in so many different drugs that you don't expect it to be in or impress pills, you know, where you think you're taking something a lot weaker."
Officials encouraged people who may need help to reach out to local, state, or federal resources:
- 988 (suicide prevention and crisis lifeline),
- Richmond Behavioral Health Authority,
- Caritas (The Healing Place for Men and The Healing Place for Women),
- Rams in Recovery (VCU collegiate recovery program),
- Ben's Friends (Recovery support meetings for the hospitality industry),
- 12 Step Meeting Locator,
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Speakers also highlighted a program, called "Project Recover" that RAA is a part of, along with other first responder agencies in Central Virginia, that aims to connect the people who first responders are treating for an overdose with a peer recovery specialist.
"The important thing with this type of program is that for most every other call type that we run, we're taking somebody to a hospital and that is considered definitive care. This is a call type where we may fix the immediate problem, get them breathing again, but we are not delivering them to that definitive care to that pathway that they need. And a program like this gives them the opportunity to truly get the help," said RAA CEO Chip Decker. "Being able to put somebody on the path to the proper care is incredibly important."
Nunnally is one of the specialists in the program.
"Usually, in a two week time period, I'll have anywhere from 15 to 25 new encounters with individuals, then getting those people into treatment or some sort of resources. Usually about 10 or 12 follow through and then we continue to follow up and offer support. If they're not ready when we first meet, then we'll continue to follow up until maybe you are and find you the resources you need," said Nunnally, who added what it feels like when they are able to get a patient to move forward. "That is the most rewarding feeling and that's what keeps us going. It can be very stressful to have to work with someone that isn't ready to see the family members being upset and depressed. But, when you get a call saying, 'I did it. Thank you so much.' — we don't get to hear those as often. But, it's so rewarding and it makes all of the stress worth it."
Nunnally said the program has received additional funding through the state's Opioid Abatement Authority to hire three more recovery specialists who will start in the new year.
And Richmond was not the only locality focused on drug overdoses Wednesday. A Chesterfield church partnered with the Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl.
Drug overdoses have been the leading cause of unnatural death in Virginia since 2013 and illegal fentanyl, which can be laced in other drugs is a driving factor.
The most recent quarterly report from the Virginia Department of Health's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner predicts that after a decrease in the number of fatal drug overdoses between 2021 and 2022 (2669 compared to 2619), 2023 is trending to see a slight increase (2646).
"You have to treat the addiction side. And going after dealers with every tool you have in the toolbox and make sure that our dealers are being held accountable for selling this poison," Miyares said.
Attendees were also trained in ways to help firsthand like how to administer naloxone, which can counteract the effects of an overdose
Viola Harris said her son died of an overdose five years ago. She wants to protect the next generation,
"I have two young grandsons, one is 13 and one is 15," Harris said. "Anything that I can do to help save them and any other child, male or female that I can help save. I'm willing to help.
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