Community To Speak At Opioid Epidemic Call-To-Action Event
January 9, 2020 at 12:52 a.m.
By Amanda [email protected]
The event is called “The Opioid Epidemic: Our Community Speaks” and will be held at the Center Lake Pavilion in Warsaw. The Bowen Center is putting it on, thanks in large part to a $5,000 grant from Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, of which Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer is president.
Thallemer is hosting the event that will include speakers from all walks of life. Former addicts will talk about their recovery journey and what it was like when they were in the throes of addiction.
Also speaking will be Kosciusko County Sheriff Kyle Dukes, Circuit Court Judge Mike Reed, Superior Court I Judge David Cates, County Councilwoman Kim Cates and Warsaw Police Det. Paul Heaton.
“We’re trying to educate individuals of what the opioid crisis looks like in our community, and secondly, we want to help individuals who are in recovery and what we can do now,” Bowen Center Outpatient Director Matthew Graham said.
Graham said community members and groups will be at the event to link folks in recovery to events that they can get engaged in to take them out of isolation.
“One of the biggest things someone faces in recovery is leaving behind all the people, places and things when they were in the throes of substance abuse,” he said. “It’s Friday night. Who do I go have fun with? Where do I go?”
One of the community organizations to answer those questions is Boundless. It’s a group made up of sober people who go out and do “normal,” fun stuff, but sober.
“That’s why we really want to attract people who are in the process of recovery and show them that here is what your community is trying to do to take you out of that isolation and get you involved in a lifestyle that you can get excited about,” Graham said.
But this event isn’t just for people who are in recovery themselves. It’s for everyone in the community – the concerned neighbor down the street, the person who complains about drug addicts but doesn’t know much about it or the person who wants to help but doesn’t think they can.
“This isn’t just an individual problem, and it’s definitely not an individual solution. It is a community issue and it’s definitely a community solution. There will be opportunities at every level of experience and inexperience to come help,” Graham said. Even if that means just learning more about it.
Thallemer said the streets of Warsaw are a better place now in large part thanks to police work and the collaborative effort of NET 43. NET 43 stands for Narcotics Enforcement Team and consists of officers with the Warsaw and Winona Lake police departments, the Indiana State Police and the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office.
Thallemer also acknowledged that the opioid and meth problem in the community will take a community that cares to solve.
“It can’t be done with just law enforcement, just the judicial system, it’s the community, and for people who don’t have family or anyone to go to, that’s the tragedy of the whole thing,” he said. “We’ve got to choke out the supply of drugs, but we’ve got to break the cycle.”
He said public awareness is key, and that when Warsaw got the AIM grant to be used for public education, he thought helping the Bowen Center’s public education outreach was the right way to go.
“These drugs are so powerful that the addicts really don’t have a choice without help,” he said. “The public needs to understand that to break that cycle there has to be a community safety net, a serious desire to try to help these folks beat these drugs.”
Thallemer touted the work of the Jail Chemical Addiction Program (JCAP) that has been seen has a huge success by not only the sheriff, but other community leaders.
Courtney Jenkins is the coordinator of JCAP and spends most of her time finding funding and organizations to come in and help the classes.
“The reality for our county is heroin is just as strong and prevalent as meth is,” Jenkins said. “You can die from a heroin overdose. It’s rare for people to OD on meth.”
Jenkins said most opioid addictions start with pain pills. “No one wakes up one day and says I’m gonna go shoot up heroin.”
She has seen the work that incarcerated individuals have made when the community cares. And she cares about how to help those individuals stay sober and productive once they’re back in the real world.
“It’s rewarding to see people change in their lives for the better,” she said.
“I think the awareness that these people aren’t horrible people is important,” Thallemer said, citing the more than 50 organizations that currently participate in the JCAP program.
“The JCAP program is great. So many different community groups and leaders going in there and teaching them skills, ways to manage their stresses, even how to manage their money ... that’s important, and it works. When the sheriff took me back there one time, it was heartwarming how many times I heard, ‘Wow, the mayor came in here to see us.’ It’s not ‘Wow, the mayor,’ it’s everyone who comes in here. There’s so many people who support JCAP, and the city, we’re definitely behind that program. It’s a great program.”
Thallemer said a troubling part of the problem is that people who want help, and start to get help, sometimes have no place to go to continue that positive recovery. He told a story about a conversation he had with a guy in JCAP who told him once he gets out of jail he doesn’t have any family to go home to; his mom and dad are addicts and so where will he go? Back to a buddy’s house, where it’ll just start right back up again.
Community resources, programs, housing and events like this where minds can come together and talk about how to solve the problem are important, Thallemer said, adding that the message that JCAP sends, “that the community cares,” is the message.
“And we have to broaden that, because it’s our problem,” Thallemer said.
Graham has been with the Bowen Center for 15 years, and two years at the Warsaw location.
“I was welcomed with open hands and I am absolutely amazed at how many people in this community genuinely care about their neighbors,” Graham said. “They want to help out when they can, and when I think about that, I think there’s a lot of people out there that really do want to help people and this is a great way to do that.”
Thallemer said people should come and learn more about what addiction does to someone and their families.
“If you just see a heinous mugshot and say we’ve got to get rid of those people, that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said. “We need to figure out a way to break the addiction cycle.”
Don’t think you have anything to offer to help?
“Sometimes that is just saying to someone, ‘I see you differently,’” Graham said.
The event is free and will offer refreshments, handout materials and information booths staffed by community resources.
Anyone with questions can call 574-528-1276.
The event is called “The Opioid Epidemic: Our Community Speaks” and will be held at the Center Lake Pavilion in Warsaw. The Bowen Center is putting it on, thanks in large part to a $5,000 grant from Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, of which Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer is president.
Thallemer is hosting the event that will include speakers from all walks of life. Former addicts will talk about their recovery journey and what it was like when they were in the throes of addiction.
Also speaking will be Kosciusko County Sheriff Kyle Dukes, Circuit Court Judge Mike Reed, Superior Court I Judge David Cates, County Councilwoman Kim Cates and Warsaw Police Det. Paul Heaton.
“We’re trying to educate individuals of what the opioid crisis looks like in our community, and secondly, we want to help individuals who are in recovery and what we can do now,” Bowen Center Outpatient Director Matthew Graham said.
Graham said community members and groups will be at the event to link folks in recovery to events that they can get engaged in to take them out of isolation.
“One of the biggest things someone faces in recovery is leaving behind all the people, places and things when they were in the throes of substance abuse,” he said. “It’s Friday night. Who do I go have fun with? Where do I go?”
One of the community organizations to answer those questions is Boundless. It’s a group made up of sober people who go out and do “normal,” fun stuff, but sober.
“That’s why we really want to attract people who are in the process of recovery and show them that here is what your community is trying to do to take you out of that isolation and get you involved in a lifestyle that you can get excited about,” Graham said.
But this event isn’t just for people who are in recovery themselves. It’s for everyone in the community – the concerned neighbor down the street, the person who complains about drug addicts but doesn’t know much about it or the person who wants to help but doesn’t think they can.
“This isn’t just an individual problem, and it’s definitely not an individual solution. It is a community issue and it’s definitely a community solution. There will be opportunities at every level of experience and inexperience to come help,” Graham said. Even if that means just learning more about it.
Thallemer said the streets of Warsaw are a better place now in large part thanks to police work and the collaborative effort of NET 43. NET 43 stands for Narcotics Enforcement Team and consists of officers with the Warsaw and Winona Lake police departments, the Indiana State Police and the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office.
Thallemer also acknowledged that the opioid and meth problem in the community will take a community that cares to solve.
“It can’t be done with just law enforcement, just the judicial system, it’s the community, and for people who don’t have family or anyone to go to, that’s the tragedy of the whole thing,” he said. “We’ve got to choke out the supply of drugs, but we’ve got to break the cycle.”
He said public awareness is key, and that when Warsaw got the AIM grant to be used for public education, he thought helping the Bowen Center’s public education outreach was the right way to go.
“These drugs are so powerful that the addicts really don’t have a choice without help,” he said. “The public needs to understand that to break that cycle there has to be a community safety net, a serious desire to try to help these folks beat these drugs.”
Thallemer touted the work of the Jail Chemical Addiction Program (JCAP) that has been seen has a huge success by not only the sheriff, but other community leaders.
Courtney Jenkins is the coordinator of JCAP and spends most of her time finding funding and organizations to come in and help the classes.
“The reality for our county is heroin is just as strong and prevalent as meth is,” Jenkins said. “You can die from a heroin overdose. It’s rare for people to OD on meth.”
Jenkins said most opioid addictions start with pain pills. “No one wakes up one day and says I’m gonna go shoot up heroin.”
She has seen the work that incarcerated individuals have made when the community cares. And she cares about how to help those individuals stay sober and productive once they’re back in the real world.
“It’s rewarding to see people change in their lives for the better,” she said.
“I think the awareness that these people aren’t horrible people is important,” Thallemer said, citing the more than 50 organizations that currently participate in the JCAP program.
“The JCAP program is great. So many different community groups and leaders going in there and teaching them skills, ways to manage their stresses, even how to manage their money ... that’s important, and it works. When the sheriff took me back there one time, it was heartwarming how many times I heard, ‘Wow, the mayor came in here to see us.’ It’s not ‘Wow, the mayor,’ it’s everyone who comes in here. There’s so many people who support JCAP, and the city, we’re definitely behind that program. It’s a great program.”
Thallemer said a troubling part of the problem is that people who want help, and start to get help, sometimes have no place to go to continue that positive recovery. He told a story about a conversation he had with a guy in JCAP who told him once he gets out of jail he doesn’t have any family to go home to; his mom and dad are addicts and so where will he go? Back to a buddy’s house, where it’ll just start right back up again.
Community resources, programs, housing and events like this where minds can come together and talk about how to solve the problem are important, Thallemer said, adding that the message that JCAP sends, “that the community cares,” is the message.
“And we have to broaden that, because it’s our problem,” Thallemer said.
Graham has been with the Bowen Center for 15 years, and two years at the Warsaw location.
“I was welcomed with open hands and I am absolutely amazed at how many people in this community genuinely care about their neighbors,” Graham said. “They want to help out when they can, and when I think about that, I think there’s a lot of people out there that really do want to help people and this is a great way to do that.”
Thallemer said people should come and learn more about what addiction does to someone and their families.
“If you just see a heinous mugshot and say we’ve got to get rid of those people, that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said. “We need to figure out a way to break the addiction cycle.”
Don’t think you have anything to offer to help?
“Sometimes that is just saying to someone, ‘I see you differently,’” Graham said.
The event is free and will offer refreshments, handout materials and information booths staffed by community resources.
Anyone with questions can call 574-528-1276.
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