JACKSON, Wyo. – It's been a few weeks since Wyomingites started listing their New Year's resolutions. So how are they sticking?

One study shows less than 40 percent stick to their goals, and if an addiction is on the list – the success rate is usually even lower.

Ed Wigg is executive director of the Curran-Seeley Foundation treatment center in Jackson. He says beating addiction is a team effort, and he sees success rates upwards of 70 to 90 percent for alcohol and drugs when there is high-quality care and patient dedication.

"We have to help them develop healthy primary relationships with other people and get away from this primary relationship they've established with their drug."

Wigg says treatment is tailored to each patient. It might mean therapy, daily or weekly meetings, a residential program and, sometimes, medications for support.

Substance abuse treatment clinics have been established in every Wyoming county. They charge on a sliding-fee scale and most insurance and Medicaid is accepted, so services are affordable for everyone. A listing of centers is at WyomingWellness.com.

Wigg says treatment for addictions starts out intense, and it can last for years and maybe even a lifetime, with Alcoholics Anonymous meetings or other group support.

"This is just one step in a process. If you stay with the process and continue to do this, the longer you do it, the better chance you have at being successful."

Wigg notes that substance abuse treatment centers receive state funding, and the legislature is looking at cutting funding over the next two years.







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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced another staggering new death count amid the pandemic: more than 100,000 fatal drug overdoses from April 2020 to 2021.

Groups working to curb such preventable deaths in Brooklyn are also pushing for solutions statewide. The group Voices Of Community Activists and Leaders (VOCAL NY), distributes clean needles, fentanyl test strips and Narcan, which can reverse an overdose.

Darryl Roberson, senior peer in the group Voices Of Community Activists and Leaders, works on the ground with participants.

"Overdoses are common, but we've saved a lot of lives," Roberson explained. "I see down the road, that we can defeat it; we have to still have a lot of support."

VOCAL NY is among 240 organizations across the nation now calling for passage of federal legislation which could help prevent opioid deaths in every neighborhood. In a letter sent to Congress, they have called for swift passage of the federal STOP Fentanyl Act, which improves surveillance and detection of the potent drug.

New York City's Health Department reports fentanyl is the most common substance found in all overdose deaths.

Melissa Moore, director of civil systems reform for the Drug Policy Alliance, said its presence in so many illicit drug batches is a further reason for what she calls a "people-first" approach to addiction.

"We need a lot more shifting away from criminalization, and from tactics from the failed drug war that have really been ineffective," Moore asserted. "And a move to person-centered, health-centered policies."

In the meantime, New York City has taken drastic action to prevent overdoses by opening the nation's first publicly recognized safe consumption sites in Upper Manhattan.

The move has been controversial. At the Overdose Prevention Centers, people can use drugs, receive medical care and have their supply inspected for fentanyl.

Research has shown the centers to effectively prevent lethal overdoses for decades in other countries. Moore believes the need is clear in all five boroughs.

"Because we know that's going to be the thing that will actually save lives, in this moment," Moore contended.

Any New Yorker seeking help with an addiction, for themselves or a loved one, can call 877-8-HOPE-NY.

Minnesota is still grappling with the impacts of opioid use, and now, an emerging effort aims to provide CPR training in marginalized communities to prevent loss of life.

State health officials recently announced Minnesota saw an 18% increase in non-fatal overdoses during the pandemic, fueled by opioid use, while adding the spike mirrors fatal overdose data.

On the prevention side, the American Heart Association is working with partners to recruit 600 "Community CPR Champions" in high-risk communities, mainly on the east side of the Twin Cities metro.

Dale Hager, captain in the White Bear Lake Police Department and a board member of the American Heart Association of Minnesota, said it gives local residents the power to save the lives of those close to them.

"Let's get the average person who has a basic knowledge of first aid trained to train their community members in how to pull somebody back from a potential opioid overdose," Hager urged.

The American Family Indian Center in St. Paul is among those who have signed on as volunteers. In Minnesota, members of the indigenous population are seven times more likely to die of drug overdose than whites.

Beyond state data, the American Heart Association recently reported opioid overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans between ages 25 and 64.

Hager added a quicker response in an overdose situation can make a huge difference.

"As opposed to waiting for an ambulance to arrive, we want to reach people where they are," Hager explained. "We want to reach people next to where our potential victims are."

He noted they also can provide comfort or triage for a victim until first responders arrive.

Organizers said they hope to reach their recruitment goal of 600 by the end of next April. Within each community network, roughly 60 people would receive CPR training. Additional overdose-prevention tips can be found on the American Heart Association website.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - It isn't often that a vending machine can save someone's life, but that's the case in South Bend, where a free overdose kit vending machine is installed at the St. Joseph's County Jail. It's the first step in an initiative that will eventually roll out across the state.

Working with state health officials, Overdose Lifeline plans to place 19 more naloxone vending machines in jails, hospitals and other venues across Indiana. Justin Phillips, the organization's founder and executive director, said the project is aimed at two specific groups, "one being those that are recently incarcerated leaving incarceration; and those visiting health centers, such as an emergency department, following an overdose."

The state has given Overdose Lifeline nearly $73,000 to install the 20 units. Each contains up to 300 free overdose-prevention kits. In addition to a dose of naloxone, a drug that can reverse an opioid overdose, the kits include instructions for use and a treatment referral for substance-use disorder. Hoosiers also can request a free naloxone overdose kit from Overdose Lifeline on its website.

Phillips said being able to anonymously obtain the kits is a key part of the vending machine initiative. She explained that the internalized stigma among people who use drugs and the hesitancy to ask someone directly for help often are hurdles in getting overdose kits distributed.

"This is not about enabling anything other than someone to have health and wellness and life," she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated drug overdose deaths in Indiana. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state saw a roughly 32% increase in overdose deaths from April 2020 to April 2021, surpassing the national average of just over 28%. That includes overdoses from opioids, as well as other drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine.


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