WARREN — The idea of safe syringe exchanges in Trumbull and Mahoning counties to help people in active drug use is again being suggested, this time from an advocate outside the Valley.
Dennis Cauchon, founder of Harm Reduction Ohio, based in Granville, thinks Mahoning and Trumbull, despite good intentions, need to “involve regular people more, those with shared experience or families who have lost a loved one. They have a good foundation — people need to be political leaders, and do what’s morally necessary to save lives.”
Syringe-exchange programs would need to be approved by a local health department, such as the Trumbull County Combined Health District, Warren health board, Mahoning County Public Health, and the Youngstown health board. Cauchon said that advocates are working on a program proposal to send to each department.
Lauren Thorp, associate director of the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board, said the community has had an overall positive reaction to using opioid overdose reversal drugs Narcan and naloxone for harm reduction.
“We had a group approach us a few years ago about a syringe-exchange program but just as we further pursued it, we found it wasn’t a viable option for our community,” Thorp said.
A NO-GO IN 2017
In 2017, the Trumbull County Combined Health District did not pursue a needle exchange because the idea did not garner the support of other county officials, despite an apparent correlation between intravenous drug use and an increase each year of hepatitis C infection.
“There was enough concern in the community that we looked into bringing a needle exchange here,” Kathy Parrilla, a public health nurse for the Trumbull County Combined Health District, said at the time. “There seemed to be correlation with the increase of drug use and the increase of blood-borne infectious diseases. We followed the steps the state laid out for communities looking to bring in needle exchanges and we found we wouldn’t get the support of county officials, which we would need to implement a program. That is why we abandoned the idea.”
Also weighing in was Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, who said he “vehemently disagrees” with a program that would encourage lawlessness. “That would be absurd,” he said. “I believe you don’t give a car to an alcoholic, and I believe you don’t give a needle to a drug addict to put heroin in it.”
Trumbull County has had recent success fighting overdose deaths on the legal front.
Trumbull and Lake counties took on retail pharmacy chains and three — CVS, Walgreens and Walmart — were found by a jury Nov. 23 to have recklessly distributed large amounts of pain pills. The county’s lawyers argued the overdose deaths cost each county about $1 billion.
Thorp said this organization and its members are happy with the verdict.
Organization members were “key witnesses for that trial and we were all very involved. We’ve seen the impact of opiate use in the community directly,” she said.
The Trumbull County commissioners initiated the legal action and will be able to determine where the money goes.
“It’s not up to us to determine how the funds from the lawsuit will be utilized and spent,” Thorp said.
In the United States, 96,779 drug overdose deaths were reported from March 2020 to March 2021. Out of the 88 counties in Ohio, Trumbull’s overdose death ranking is 16th with 123 overdose deaths, with Mahoning following behind at eighth with an estimated 168 deaths in 2021, according to the Ohio Department of Health’s online database. It estimates that Ohio’s 2021 overdose death count will total between 5,100 and 5,250.
HARM REDUCTION
Along with addressing overdoses, there has been discussion on how to keep safe and alive those who are vulnerable. This is where harm reduction comes in — a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. This also can be applied to mental illness, wellness, health and general safety.
“Harm reduction is accepting that drugs exist in the world. They always have, always will,” Cauchon said. “We do policies based on compassion, science and human rights. We treat people who use drugs as worthy human beings.”
Harm Reduction Ohio is a nonprofit organization that supports drug policies based on science, health, compassion and human rights. Its website offers resources for people to learn about addiction, mental-health disorders and the overdose crisis. The organization has been serving Ohio since 2017.
Cauchon formerly was a reporter for USA Today. One day, he said he “decided that I wanted to work on the things that I used to write about, and to focus nationally. People were dying in Ohio, there were little resources. I wanted to help.”
One way of helping has been advocating for syringe-exchange programs throughout the state.
The programs, according to their proponents, are proven and effective community-based prevention programs that can provide a range of services for people in active drug use. They provide the user with clean needles.
Nearly 30 years of research has shown that comprehensive syringe-exchange programs are safe, effective and cost-saving, do not increase illegal drug use or crime, and play an important role in reducing the transmission of viral hepatitis, HIV and other infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Twenty-two counties in Ohio have syringe exchanges, with the Youngstown / Warren region as the only large metro area that doesn’t, according to Cauchon.
CURRENT PERSPECTIVE
Recently, Watkins said that his sentiments are similar to 2017. He mentioned that he’s currently prosecuting people for unlawful drug use and possession of drug paraphernalia, as per the law.
“We’ve seen a lot of increase in overdose deaths. The use of a syringe with a deadly chemical in it is a very dangerous activity. … Giving anyone permission to commit a crime is a bad thing. The prevention of disease is an important thing to do, but it needs to be measured and legal,” he said.
Watkins also stated that he’s “not in favor of giving needles with public money to drug abusers.” He mentioned, however, that he doesn’t allow his personal beliefs to interfere with his job and would uphold the law if a syringe exchange program is implemented.
Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains, too, said he “will enforce whatever decision the county board of health makes on the issue since it is the law.”
Resources in each county include Project DAWN, a free community-based drug overdose education and naloxone distribution program. Kathy Parrilla, Project DAWN coordinator and the drug overdose prevention coordinator of the Trumbull County Board of Health, also addressed the possibility of a syringe-exchange program.
“We sat down and talked about it, and there were concerns brought up,” Parrilla said. “It’s just something that we’ve looked into, and there are issues that need to be worked out. What I will say is that it’s something that’s not happening in the near future.”
Brenda Christensen, public health nurse at Mahoning County Public Health, also said Mahoning County looked into the program and it’s not something being planned at this time.
RESOURCES
The Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board offers resources for those in the community struggling with mental health and addiction, and its Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention coalition is big on promoting access to Narcan.
“A lot of times the community and family members feel helpless when we hear about the opiate epidemic. All of us want to help in some way and distributing Narcan is one small way that we can do that,” Thorp said.
The Coalition for a Drug Free Mahoning County is a nonprofit that provides education to prevent substance abuse and promote mental health in the community.
On top of this, there’s a peer support network in the Mahoning Valley. Equitas Health has moved into Youngstown, and the community receives care from the Ursuline Sisters HIV / AIDS Ministry.
2020 Domestic Violence Statistics
MAHONING COUNTY
Mahoning County, total from all reporting departments
550: charged with domestic violence
91: charged with something else
570: not charged
Total: 1,211
Percent charged with something: 52.9
*Percent change in those charged with domestic violence since 2019: -10.1
*(not all communities reported their statistics completely)
Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office
26: charged
0: charged with something else
36: not charged
Total: 62
Percent charged with something: 41.9
Percent change in those charged with domestic violence since 2019: -29.7
*Youngstown police
(did not submit all monthly statistics)
168: charged with domestic violence
58: charged with something else
137: not charged
Total: 363
Percent charged with something: 62.3
Percent change in those charged with domestic violence since 2019: -15.6
Austintown police
143: charged with domestic violence
27: charged with something else
237: not charged
Total: 407
Percent charged with something: 41.8
Percent change in those charged with domestic violence since 2019: +25.4
Boardman police
138: charged with domestic violence
1: charged with something else
46: not charged
Total: 185
Percent charged with something: 75.1
Percent change in those charged with domestic violence since 2019: -8.6
SOURCE: Ohio Attorney General’s Office
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