SAW opioid settlement town hall feedback calls for in-patient treatment center

STAUNTON - "We didn't even know what fentanyl was."

One of the first speakers at the July 17 Opioid Town Hall in Staunton's city council chambers teared up, anger tinging her voice.

In January, the speaker lost their 20-year-old child to an overdose. It came quickly, and the family was not prepared.

"We came from zero knowledge to the death of our child," the first speaker said. "My child was 20 and got the wrong thing. We were all 20 and thought we were invincible."

"One pill can kill," said one speaker, a counselor working in substance abuse treatment.

Town halls held to gather public feedback on local opioid misuse and addiction

Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro jointly called the town halls on July 16 and 17 to plan before they receive funds from a national opioid lawsuit settlement. As part of the settlement, the funds may be used for evidence-based efforts to treat, prevent, or reduce opioid use disorder's effects on the SAW community.

The Opioid Abatement Authority (OAA) was established in 2021 by the Virginia legislature to “abate and remediate the opioid epidemic in the Commonwealth.” The OAA funded The Knowledge Advisory Group and Carter Foundation to perform a local needs assessment, which began in December, guided by an advisory committee with one local government representative from each locality.

The Knowledge Advisory Group and Carter Foundation then conducted interviews with 10 organizations in the area to determine the local need, surveyed community stakeholders, reviewed published health data, and held the town halls.

Trina Willard, founder of The Knowledge Advisory Group, and Sherrina Gibson of the Carter Foundation led the town halls.

"We'll be sharing some of the information that we have gathered with you but our job is really to gather your thoughts opinions and experiences," said Willard. "We'd like to better understand how opioid use has impacted residents in the area."

What did the researchers find in the area?

Willard reported methamphetamine was the “most significant drug related issue” in SAW, but “opioid misuse, particularly involving fentanyl, is also rising.” The survey responses showed 65% of respondents described opioid misuse as a “significant program” and 33% said they knew someone who struggled with opioid misuse in the region.

Common opioids include OxyContin, Percocet, morphine, methadone, codeine and fentanyl.

“Augusta and Waynesboro residents had a higher rate of women giving birth with opioid disorder and higher rates of emergency responses to opioid-related events compared to Virginia overall,” said Willard. “In addition, Waynesboro had a higher opioid death rate compared to the statewide rate.”

The local review's key findings

Bringing together the data, the researchers made a handful of key findings:

• "Two of the localities within the SAW region (Staunton and Waynesboro) are classified by the Virginia Department of Health as high need for targeted drug prevention and treatment support, and there is evidence to suggest that opioids are one of the drugs misused by residents.”
• “Relatively poor economic conditions in the SAW region may lead to opioid misuse among its residents.” Willard explained research suggests poverty increases addiction risk factors like stress, feelings of hopelessness, low self-esteem, decreased social support, and decreased access to affordable healthcare. The median household income for Augusta County is $77,487, Staunton $61,917, and Waynesboro $58,527, as compared to Virginia overall at $86,838.
• “Residents of the SAW region have access to fewer mental health and primary care providers compared to Virginia overall, which likely makes it more difficult for those with substance use disorders (including opioid misuse) to obtain help from trained professionals.”
• “The most common barriers to obtaining services for opioid misuse are lack of awareness about services/treatment programs, transportation, and lack of available services/treatment programs.” As one speaker expanded, the programs "only work for people with good insurance."
• “According to community stakeholders, opioid misuse prevention programs are somewhat available in the SAW region, but they only mentioned a few 'light touch' programs available through the Office on Youth and Valley CSB when asked to identify them.” By “light touch,” the finding means an organization doing non-intensive services, such as presentations on substance abuse in schools.
• “Stakeholders recommend implementation or expansion of recovery support services, programs for children whose parents misuse opioids, and behavioral therapies.”
• "Expand number of substance use disorder providers, expand recovery support services for opioid misuse."

An inpatient treatment center in SAW?

One of the final slides of the presentation asked the room what the funds should focus on first — behavioral therapies, harm-reduction, medication assisted therapy, opioid misuse prevention and education efforts, programs for children whose parents misuse opioids, recovery support services, or treatment program in the criminal justice system.

One speaker said the various recommendations from the researchers "combined" translated to an an intensive, in-patient substance abuse treatment center.

The room seemed to be in complete agreement, with nods and several others vocally supporting the idea. One speaker said intensive treatment would help "get them to a blue sky," better able to handle a substance abuse disorder.

OAA released $56 million in the past 12 months

So far, OAA has released three rounds of funds, totaling in the tens of millions.

The first round totaled $23 million in June 2023. Waynesboro received $100,000 on SAW's behalf to conduct the local research leading to the town halls.

The localities were not part of the $11 million award in August 2023. In May, OAA released another $22.7 million in grants. SAW did not receive funds this round either.

The researchers will take the feedback to Waynesboro City Council, Augusta County Board of Supervisors and Staunton City Council. Each will then consider how to use the funds coming out of the settlements.

Lyra Bordelon (she/her) is the public transparency and justice reporter at The News Leader. Do you have a story tip or feedback? It’s welcome through email to lbordelon@gannett.com . Subscribe to us at newsleader.com .

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This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: SAW opioid settlement town hall feedback calls for in-patient treatment center