KENNEWICK, Wash. – Governor Jay Inslee visited the Tri-Cities to talk with community members about the ongoing Fentanyl Epidemic.
Healthcare workers, counselors, and other authorities weighed in on what the community needs to help people with substance use disorders and what is needed to reduce the number of people addicted to drugs like fentanyl.
Multiple people at the meeting said a big need is housing. They said people without homes are more likely to get into drugs, in some cases just to stay warm and avoid feeling sick.
Counselors said it can be impossible for people without a home to work on finding stability and fight their substance abuse disorder.
Inslee agreed with members at the meeting saying the need for more housing is a problem across the state. He plans to address it at the next budget meeting.
He said he plans to work with legislators on funding for more housing and support for counselors working to help people in communities across the state.
According to a press release “Inslee previewed his proposal for the upcoming legislative session to add $50 million for a range of prevention and treatment strategies that would supplement the $200 million approved by legislators last session.”
Chief of the Kennewick Police Department, Chris Guerrero, said keeping fentanyl out of the state would be a big help.
Governor Inslee said recent agreements with China to keep precursors, the chemicals used to make the drug, out of Mexico may help reduce what’s being illegally made and imported up the I-5 corridor.
Bringing more people into the field of counseling as well as specific training on helping people with substance abuse disorders was another focus.
Shereen Hunt, Executive Director of Merit Resource Services has been working in different roles in the substance abuse recovery field for 27 years. She said the major difference with the current fentanyl epidemic is how deadly it can be.
“It’s the drug of the day, back in the day we had the cocaine epidemic and then we had the methamphetamine epidemic, and now we have the fentanyl epidemic,” she said.
Hunt said it’s important to know that there have been and continue to be success stories.
“Over the years, what’s been true for everyone, is that treatment works, and recovery can happen,” she said.
Jennifer Azure works with people trying to recover from substance use disorders in recovery court, she said the difference with fentanyl is how strongly it gets people to feel they need it.
“We’re seeing progress, people who, when they came in, weren’t working, didn’t have their education. We’ve had people graduate with their GED graduate with their high school diplomas, and are back in the workforce,” she said.
A participant of the recovery court also spoke at the roundtable, visiting to advocate for programs like recovery court and Merit. He said he’s a product of what can happen when those programs help people into long-term recovery.
