the growing heroin addiction epidemic
and drug-related death in crimes in Franklin County
connecting point contributor Carolee McGrath talks with members at the
opiate education and awareness task force
it was formed because the recent spike in heroin activity
I had a back injury i got married in 94
newlywed I had already had a child arm has been was gracious enough to like
take that child and under his wings as our own and so we started this family
on and i got pregnant and i was just married
and I fell down a flight of stairs and that's what Melissa O'Malley says
started her downward spiral into addiction
when the people stopped working I started looking for other things
and i ended up being hero and I picked up because I was so second day
and the right person was around me with any and I couldn't take it and I pretty
much just side you know how to do it
and I did she admits it's been a long hard road for her
her four children and husband of 20 years but Melissa
now a volunteer at the recover project in Greenfield
has been clean for four and a half years and she's very worried about
other young people in Franklin County where heroin use is on the rise
I found myself on indicted in Superior Court
16 indictments due to my addiction
I was just he I was charged with selling harrowing
quack on parking stubs
all on regular stops cocaine
I had so about this stuff to a drug task force I was so sick
according to the northwestern district attorney's office there have been 10
suspected overdose deaths in Hampshire and Franklin counties
and the town after all since December the problem has town and city leaders
so concerned that they form the Franklin County opioid awareness
task force sheriff Christopher Donnellan is the coach Ange
what's happening is kids are stealing prescriptions on whether it's something
in mom and dads medicine cabinet or grandma's house or a neighbor cells
these oxy's party called on RT cotton when they're
ground-up and misused a euphoric high
kids have found this out in you know if they can get it from a relative it's
going to the point now where kids are starting to break into houses to get it
the sheriff calls it a public health crisis that's led to other crime
what we've seen the last few months arm was the
overdose read and the number of deaths spike
and that has been attributed to some degree
to an I knew more powerful batch of heroin hitting the streets here
there and appear when they're caught breaking into cars are breaking into
homes
we've had bank robberies convenience store robberies here in Greenfield that
right
we tied to the heroin epidemic that we have john married and the register a
Franklin Probate and Family Court sup is also a co chair on the committee
the real sad cases in the pregnant models that are coming into court now
harm because Iran the the methadone suboxone
as a result the heroine any you know recently we we had a meeting at the
at the hospital we learned of a three babies that were in the nursery on a
particular we can
I and all three babies were opiate addict the babies and i was just
in the past month include doctor ruth boti a family physician at Valley
Medical Center in Greenfield
is also on the task force she says she's had to become an addiction specialist
she's treating sixty to seventy patients for addiction
there much easier to abuse because they're available to people
particularly the young people who often will just try anything once the promise
opiate is most often you don't try and one
it is a very fast slide down a rabbit hole once you start using those pain
pills
task force members want to see a long-term treatment facility appear in
Franklin County
and they also want to drive home the message to kids that this is a road yet
just don't wanna go down
whatever problems that we have in the western part of the state assistance
little very little attention to drug treatment we don't have a single detox
bed in this county
we have a handful detox beds and Berkshire County there's not a single
detox bed
in Hampshire County the closest place we can go and send to people much to
Holyoke Rd Springfield
those places before before all the time we have no long-term sober living
situation
the sad reality is and I tell this to the folks in Franklin County the safest
heroin addict are the ones like to peer because they're detoxing in a safe
environment with medical supervision
and they have no access to more opioids
Melissa who was once on the other side of this is now doing everything she can
to protect your children
and other young people is there hope
I believe there is because I know there's another way you know I'm living
proof
I mean people that know me I was not the person you see before you today is not
the person he is today
you know I was a liar a key a I
he manipulator you know and on
you know my life is very different today because I work a program recovery today
but she says she'll have to work at recovery for the rest to rely for
reporting for connecting point I'm Carolee McGrath