Latest news with #drugrecovery
CBS News
14-07-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Woman's survival in Baltimore's Penn North overdose spurs recovery push: "Barely clinging to life"
In the aftermath of a mass overdose that hospitalized 27 people in the Penn North neighborhood, one victim spoke out, and drug recovery advocates are adjusting their strategy to reach people in crisis before it's too late. Over the weekend, Sapna Bansil, a journalist with our media partner, The Baltimore Banner, spoke with a woman in her 60s who survived an overdose after unknowingly ingesting a dangerous batch of drugs. The woman described buying heroin on North Avenue Thursday morning, July 10, and receiving a free "tester," a small sample of what turned out to be a potent and potentially lethal substance. According to The Banner, the woman snorted a fragment of a pill "smaller than the head of a match" before beginning to feel dizzy and disoriented. Fearing she might collapse in the street, she made her way to a nearby playground, where she eventually passed out. She was discovered nearly five hours later and transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital after reportedly going into cardiac arrest and receiving multiple doses of Narcan. Now, for the first time in 15 years, she is seeking treatment. Efforts to help residents with recovery Recovery and harm reduction organizations say the mass overdose incident highlights both the urgent need and ongoing efforts to meet individuals where they are. "It's a double-edged sword," said Krystal Drayton, a community resource specialist with King Health Systems. "That same exact day, we had harm reduction on site, handing out test kits and clean syringes. But clearly, for some, it wasn't enough, or it was too late." Drayton, who was in the neighborhood that day, says that while crisis response was swift, ongoing visibility and presence in areas of high drug activity are key. "I would say this is restrengthening what we do, but it's also an eye-opener of the things we can implement more," Drayton said. "Maybe we can have meetings or activities near places like the subway station. You're not going to have drug activity and a therapeutic event happening at the same time." The source of the drug is still under investigation Authorities are still investigating the source of the batch, and community advocates are urging anyone using drugs to seek help and utilize harm reduction tools, including fentanyl test strips and Narcan kits. As the Penn North neighborhood continues to recover from the incident, Drayton hopes the response is not a one-time effort. "They responded to the crisis, which was great," Drayton said. "But I would love to see that more often, not just because an incident happened." The overdose victim, now in recovery, is one of many in Baltimore's ongoing battle with substance abuse. Advocates hope her story will serve as a turning point, not just for her, but for an entire community still searching for healing.
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
‘I didn't know what to do, where to go': Families affected by addiction seek more support and a say in drugs policy
'I wasn't aware of it all at first,' says Eileen of her son's drug addiction. 'I had other children, I was working and I was trying to keep all the balls up in the air.' Eileen, who prefers not to give her surname to protect her family's identity, says her son became addicted to cocaine during the Covid-19 lockdowns. An essential worker, in farming, he did not have to restrict his movements. READ MORE When his problem was brought to her attention by another family member, she says 'the bottom fell out' of her world. 'I didn't know what to do, where to go. I was trying to help him. I was confronting him,' she adds. 'We were getting into big arguments and then unfortunately he ran up drug debts. Then the intimidation [by those he owed money to] started. That was terrifying. I was afraid for my son's life, afraid for all of us.' Eileen was speaking ahead of the inaugural conference of Families in Addiction Recovery Ireland (Fari), which takes place at Croke Park , Dublin on Monday. Minister of State for the National Drugs Strategy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor is due to address the event, which will hear that families affected by addiction, who are often key to their loved ones' recoveries, are neither adequately supported nor sufficiently involved in drugs policy. Fari is a coalition of 80 groups dedicated to supporting families affected by addiction. It has been formed following the dissolution in 2021 of the Family Support Network. 'We want the lived experience of families and communities in government strategies to ensure the needs of people most affected are involved in the development of policies, their implementation and evaluation of services,' said Fari chair Breda Fell. Currently, she said, there is no representation for families' voices in national drugs policy, no strategy to support affected families and no funding programme to develop family support. While many local organisations are supporting families, there is no easily accessible signposting, such as a website or phone line, directing families in crisis to supports. Fari is calling for families' perspectives to be incorporated into the new national drugs strategy, which is being developed by the Department of Health . Ms Fell said families experience significant adversity, including emotional and financial strain. Many people throughout Ireland endure intimidation and violence due to loved ones' drug debts, she said. The organisation estimates that up to 280,000 people are affected by a family member's addiction. Eileen says that while facing with her son's addiction issues her sleep and health 'deteriorated big time'. 'I wasn't eating. I was so, so worried about my son. I was also worried I was not giving enough time to the rest of my family.' However, she and her husband 'didn't know where to go' to find support. 'Until drug addiction comes to your door, it is not something you look into because you don't have the need for it. But once it comes to your door you are desperate to find help.' She heard about the Family Addiction Support Network which operates in the northeast. She found 'people going through the same as I was' when she attended its meetings. 'I felt understanding, support. I learned a different way of thinking. It helped me to separate myself [from the addiction] and get on with my life as best I could for me, while supporting my son,' she says. The advice and support provided by the network 'definitely helped my son', says Eileen. 'He says to this day he wouldn't have recovered without the love and support of his family, but with FASN we were able to go in parallel – giving him room to breathe and make his own choices.' She is grateful the network was there, but notes it is not a national organisation. 'We definitely need more FASNs across the country, and a single place, a national organisation where families can go to get information about help.'
