Officers take fight against heroin use into schools

HAGERSTOWN, Ind. (AP) - Wayne County Drug Task Force officers investigate the sale and use of heroin every day.

Now, they're also investing time to fight the opiate drug in another way. They're educating as well as enforcing.

Task force members and others, including members of the area Heroin is Here group, speak directly to middle school and high school students, using an up-front message to stop addictions before they start.

"A couple of years down the road maybe we can reap the benefits of the education, because we're not seeing change on the street anytime soon," said Richmond Police Department Sgt. James Mastriano, the task force's leader, before presentations last week to Hagerstown students and parents.

The task force, which made its original presentation last month at Northeastern High School, has scheduled similar discussions for Nov. 17 at Winchester and Nov. 18 at Lincoln. Representatives from Richmond and Centerville high schools attended last week, and RPD Detective Pat Tudor said Richmond is interested in hosting a presentation.

With facts and figures from officers, medical professionals, a mother and the coroner, the message proves powerful. Wayne County Coroner Ron Stevens, standing behind a casket rolled into the gymnasium, had a row of Hagerstown students stand to represent the 19 heroin-related deaths - with 10 cases pending - so far this year, ranking the county No. 1 in the state per capita.

"We've really seen a lot of positive feedback from the community and parents who are having long conversations with their kids, a dialogue that was not there before," Mastriano said. "We've actually had some parents and citizens call us and ask if they can do more in the community. It's a battle law enforcement is not going to win on its own. It's going to be everybody."

Tudor, who also has spoken to some individual health classes, said addressing the 1,500-some students at Northeastern and Hagerstown is "by far the most rewarding thing I've experienced" during 18 years in law enforcement.

He said the task force presentation, however, is just the "tip of the iceberg," and schools need a drug-prevention curriculum to follow up on the task force's message. Tudor pointed out the DARE program in elementary schools leads to nothing in the middle and high schools.

"By getting into our schools, I think we can back door this problem," he said.

Scheduling visits before Thanksgiving is part of the task force's plan, Mastriano said, educating students before Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations.

"We start a dialogue with the schools to start a dialogue with the kids," he said. "We want to come back around right before summer to educate them before they have a three-month summer break."

Connecting with students extends the efforts of the Heroin is Here group, which began in November 2014. In the first 12 months, the group focused on educating the public about the depth of the heroin problem and about services available for help. The group also has explored and developed initiatives to implement in the community.

Group facilitator Lisa Suttle, director of psychiatric services at Reid Health, said the group now will divide into an education group and an action group.

"We're at that point now," she said. "What can we put into place to move forward?"

Education initiatives such as billboards, radio public service announcements, a website and information cards have stressed the dangers of heroin, the depth of the county's problem and the addiction services that are available.

Narcan kits have been distributed to first responders by Reid Health. Through October, Reid's emergency room had administered 167 doses of the drug that reverses the effects of an overdose, while Richmond Fire Department had administered 131 doses.

A later meeting was to discuss a pilot program between Centerstone and the Wayne County Jail for the use of Vivitrol, a once-a-month shot that takes away the euphoric benefits of a heroin high. The program aims to keep those released from jail from returning to addiction.

Another group focusing on neonatal abstinence syndrome also has met. Through September, 36 babies at Reid had been born addicted to opiates, five more than in all of 2014.

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Source: (Richmond) Palladium-Item, http://pinews.co/1iOwBpG

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Information from: Palladium-Item, http://www.pal-item.com