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the New Lenox Patriot | September 14, 2017 | 11
County officials talk substance abuse issues in the area
Jonathan Samples
Freelance Reporter
Since 2013, more than 500
people in Will County have
died from either suicide or
by overdosing on opioid
drugs like heroin or prescription
pain killers. Sadly, few
people are talking about it.
That was the message during
an informational event at
the Homer Township Public
Library on Aug. 31. The program,
sponsored by the Will
County Board, the health
department and the Will
County Executive Office,
was held on International
Overdose Awareness Day.
The irony, however, is that
many in the county remain
unaware of a rising number
of deaths from opioid overdose
or suicide in their own
neighborhoods, and officials
say that needs to change.
“We’re doing a lot of these
kinds of events around the
county, because I personally
feel that we’ve got to get rid
of the stigma,” Will County
Board member Mike Fricilone
said. “The problem with
these kinds of events is that
people around here don’t want
to admit we have a problem.”
Fricilone and another District
7 board member, Steve
Balich, sponsored Thursday’s
program, which is part
of a community conversation
series aimed at gathering
feedback from residents
about where the county
should focus resources and
initiatives designed to prevent
these tragic deaths.
“We’re trying to dig down
and find out what’s really
going on at the street level so
that we can bring resources
into the communities that
need them most,” said Kathleen
Burke, director of substance-use
initiatives in the
Office of the Will County
Executive. “We want to save
lives, and we want to see
people get better.”
Burke, who was hired
Opioid Deaths in Will
County
2017 44
2016 87*
2015 53
2014 35
2013 38
*Up more than 40
percent over previous
year
Suicides in Will County
2016 79
2015 58
2014 49
2013 68
2012 65
in February to educate the
community about preventing
opioid overdose deaths,
said Will County has a lack
of behavioral health resources
for people struggling with
addiction. She hopes events
like this will help identify
where there are gaps in both
resources and residents’ understanding
of the county’s
opioid epidemic.
“We want to keep people
informed and help them raise
their children in a safe environment,
help those young
adults who are struggling,
and then build the resources
within their own community
to assist people when they
need it,” she said.
Homer Glen is one of several
communities in Will
County that have seen a
higher rate of deaths from
opioid overdose in recent
years. Those numbers have
since come down in Homer
Glen, but Burke said there’s
still more work to be done.
“We want to acknowledge
that the community has
struggled in the past but is
on a positive trajectory,” she
said. “But that can diminish
if there’s not enough conversation
and communication.
Kathleen Burke, director of substance use initiatives for Will County, presents information
on opioid use during a community conversation event at Homer Township Public Library
on Aug. 31. Jonathan Samples/22nd Century Media
If we start putting our heads
in the sand, we’ll end up in
the same place.”
As part of her job, Burke
oversees a number of initiatives
designed to halt
the spread of opioid use in
Will County. That includes
training staffs at area social
service agencies, as well as
other individuals who are
likely to be contact with active
opioid users, on how
to administer naloxone – a
medication designed to reverse
an opioid overdose.
So far, Burke’s efforts are
showing promising results.
“A comparison of last year
and this year for six months
shows our numbers are a little
down, as far as deaths go,
because our naloxone usage
is up,” she said. “Whether
that correlates, I don’t know;
but the research shows that
the more naloxone you have
in a community the less likely
you’re going to have overdose
deaths.”
In 2016, 87 people in Will
County died as a result of an
opioid overdose, with naloxone
being used 11 times to
successfully reverse an overdose.
Through Aug. 31, the
Will County Coroner reports
44 opioid overdose deaths in
2017.
And while the number of
people dying from an opioid
overdose appears to be
decreasing, successful administration
of naloxone is
on the rise. Burke said naloxone,
sold under the brand
name Narcan, has already
been used 23 times in 2017.
Without the antidote, those
individuals would likely
have died.
Additionally, Burke is
working to ensure that people
with opioid-use disorder
have resources in place for
treatment and recovery.
“When you save somebody
with Narcan, you want
to have them to go immediately
into treatment; otherwise,
you know that in
most cases they’re going to
go back to using,” she said.
“Without treatment, you’re
really not doing anything for
long-term change.”
Burke added that treatment
is just one part of
maintaining sobriety.
After treatment, individuals
typically need to engage
in some form of outpatient
therapy and various support
groups. They also need stable
housing, a job and a network
of additional resources
to be able to maintain their
recovery.
“The goal is that in Will
County we have a comprehensive
support system for
people who are struggling
with substance-use disorder,”
Burke said.
A major component of that
support system is behavioral
and mental health services.
During Thursday’s program,
Burke was joined by
Scott Dubois, who is the behavioral
health coordinator
at the Will County Health
Department. He said there
are some similarities between
people who die from
drug overdose and those
who die from suicide, such
as mental illness, past trauma
and negative stigma.
“We want to reduce stigma
for mental illness and other
substance-use disorders,”
Dubois said.
Like Burke, he hopes
these types of conversations
will shed light on the
high rates of suicide in Will
County and make it easier
for people experiencing suicidal
thoughts to seek help.
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