LYNN — Residents are invited to a forum on opioid addiction next week, which is aimed at helping people understand the epidemic.
Opioid Addiction in the City of Lynn, hosted by the Lynn City Council and Lynn Inspectional Services Department, Public Health, will be next Tuesday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the City Council Chamber at City Hall.
The event will be moderated by City Councilor Brian Field, chairman of the city’s Opioid Subcommittee and Michele Desmarais, the city’s public health director.
Presenters at the forum will offer different perspectives on the opioid epidemic — speakers include Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Wendy Kent, director of behavioral health and prevention programs at Bridgewell; Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, chief executive officer of Lynn Community Health; and Patrick Byrne, community liaison/street advocate and a parent who lost his son to addiction.
Field said the speakers were chosen to be part of the panel because of the knowledge they have about opioids. He said anyone who attends will leave knowing more about opioids and what they can do to make a difference.
“I know if people do attend, the information (from) these selected presenters is very helpful in understanding how opioids affect people,” Field said. “(We’re) trying to get that message out that you’re not going to get arrested for asking for help.”
Field said the message needs to get out that if someone has an addiction, they won’t be labeled as a criminal or junkie, which is going to help in the overall fight against opioids. He said the forum would also be helpful for people seeking treatment to know what resources are out there.
There have been 89 heroin overdoses with 13 fatalities in the city this year through the month of March. Overdoses and fatalities are down compared to this point last year, according to Lynn Police Lt. Michael Kmiec.
But heroin overdoses and fatalities in Lynn have trended up in the past several years — there were 499 overdoses with 68 fatalities in 2017, 444 overdoses with 50 fatalities in 2016, 348 overdoses with 50 fatalities in 2015, 290 overdoses with 46 fatalities in 2014, and 195 overdoses and 24 fatalities in 2013, according to police statistics.
Kmiec said it’s his hope that overdoses are down this year because the message is getting out there, that people are seeking help and getting the care that they need.
Kmiec said the message police try to get across when they respond to overdoses is that the person won’t get arrested — he said officers want to know what the person took so they can get the care they need. Sometimes with an overdose, there’s a reluctance from others on scene to say what drug the victim took.
There are new laws that if a person is given Narcan, or Naloxone, the lifesaving overdose drug, he or she could be placed into protective custody and escorted to a hospital because of the concern that Narcan could wear off.
Kmiec said if someone calls to report an overdose, the victim can’t be charged with possession offenses anymore, but could be charged if there are drugs there that amount to trafficking.
He said the most frequent time to arrest would be if someone has warrants — authorities would get the person to the hospital, he or she would be treated and then taken into custody after being discharged.
Field said opioid addiction can affect anyone. As a funeral director, he’s seen firsthand how it affects families. Unlike cancer, where everyone offers support to those affected, the opioid epidemic can be seen as a scar on the family, where people don’t want to talk about it and are afraid to get help.
“The hope of the forum is to educate people and let them recognize that they can ask for help,” Field said. “It should be pretty powerful and pretty good for the education part of it and I think we can build off of that as a city.”
