Oxford’s Focus on Drug Rehabilitation

Despite the lack of drug rehabilitation programs in Oxford, those in the city working with drug users are committed to connecting them with treatment options. The closest options are in Hamilton or Fairfield.

There were 21 drug overdoses in Oxford in 2020. Multiple overdoses were repeat offenders. One of those repeat offenders from 2020 has already overdosed four times in

2021.

A majority of drug use in Oxford and in Southwest Ohio is heroine and methamphetamine.

“So many of our problems are mental illness and drugs,” Oxford Police Department Lt. Lara Fening said. “So many are repeat offenders that we get calls multiple times a week, if not multiple times a day. There’s just no end in sight for this cycle of either behavior or mental illness or whatever their need is. There just doesn’t seem to be an end.”

Liz Dickinson is part of an organization whose goal is to end this cycle. She found herself in her current role almost by chance. After accepting a job at a drug rehabilitation center, she found a passion for helping her community.

Now, she is a care coordinator for the Hopeline, where she helps drug users in Oxford and Hamilton get connected with the best resources to overcome their addiction.

She works with the police departments in both cities to connect with users in the communities. Dickinson likes that she can help her clients explore all the options available to them, instead of just focusing on one treatment center.

“For an addict, it’s hard enough to get them to do it when you have someone holding their hand through the process, much less having them just initiate it all themselves. I think that that’s a recipe for failure almost, is to expect them to initiate these things on their own,” Lt. Fening said. “I think that there’s probably a very small population that will say: ‘That’s it, I’m done. I’m gonna go seek help.’ I don’t think that is very common at all, and so you’re just missing that referral aspect, which I think is really important.”

The Oxford Police Department alerts Dickinson each time there is an overdose, and the Hamilton Police Department alerts Dickinson each time there is an overdose and each time there is a drug citation.

Hopeline Care Coordinator Liz Dickinson follows up with her clients in Oxford. She works with them to find the best drug treatment options for them, and continues to follow up throughout the process. She is able to maintain a cheerful attitude, because she knows what she does is helping her community.

Some users inevitably slip through the cracks, which is why Dickinson attends Hamilton Municipal Court each morning. If she sees someone at court who needs to be connected to treatment, she will meet them in the hall after their case has been heard to give them her business card. She will also follow up with users who are in jail.

Hamilton Municipal Court Judge Daniel Gattermeyer is very supportive of the work that Dickinson does. He tries to keep users out of jail and instead connect them to resources for treatment when the situation allows.

Those struggling with substance abuse and their families can also contact the Hopeline directly before encounters with law enforcement. The Hopeline serves Butler, Hamilton, Warren, Clinton and Montgomery Counties. The Hopeline is run through One City for Recovery and is free to all who use its resources.

“I never know what my day will look like,” Dickinson said. “I get to see firsthand how hard it can be to access treatment. There can be a lot of barriers. It frustrates me, and imagine how the client is feeling, because they are also dealing with a million other things in their lives that aren’t going well. They’re trying to do better, but it can seem like they’re constantly being shut down. I like that I can be there as an advocate and a problem solver for them, because they are not necessarily in a position to solve all the problems to get them where they want to be.”

According to OneCityForRecovery.com, there are 10 care coordinators with the Hopeline, which grew from seven in 2020. Last year, they interacted with over 7,800 people. Of the 2,300 clients, almost half were receptive to learning about treatment options, and 650 got the help they needed.

At least once a week, each of the care coordinators, along with local police, go out into the communities they serve to try to find and connect with each person who had overdosed in the last week. This is called the Quick Response Team. Over 75% of the clients in 2020 were new clients.

A few years ago, Narcan became available for emergency response personnel, then became available for personal use after that. The drug naloxone, commonly referred to as Narcan, helps to reverse the effects of an overdose and save a person’s life.

After naloxone became available, Lt. Fening said that overdose deaths plummeted. After it became available for personal use,

Dickinson and Officer Matt Wagers prepare to go out into the Oxford community with the hope of connecting with an overdose and some of Dickinson’s clients. They met a woman who had plans to go to an inpatient program in a few days, but did not have transportation. Two days after they first amde contact with her, Dickinson was able to transport her to treatment so that she could begin healing.

Officer Heffernan and Dickinson drive through a neighborhood in Hamilton where they consistently find drug users they can connect with.

overdoses dropped.

She said she knows this is not because less people are using drugs, but now users can recover from an overdose without getting the authorities involved.

This had made the treatment referral process more difficult. However, Lt. Fening still sees the drug as a positive. She said that each time a user recovers from an overdose is one more chance they have to seek treatment and better themselves.

In both Hamilton and Oxford, only the EMS carries Narcan. It is up to the police chief if their officers carry the drug. Some think it is too much of a liability for officers to carry it, because they are not medical personnel. Others think that if the police have the opportunity to help someone, they should take it.

Officer Heffernan is one of two in Hamilton that Dickinson works with. He works daily to connect with users before they overdose.

Dickinson is in Hamilton almost everyday, but comes to Oxford when there is an overdose. She goes out into the community with Officer Matthew Wagers to try to find the person who overdosed, and to connect with Dickinson’s other clients.

In Oxford, the police and EMS responded to 33 overdoses in 2018, then 21 in both 2019 and 2020.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Talawanda High School and Middle School no not have school on Wednesday. Officer Wagers is the school resource officer at Talawanda Middle School. He does not have to be at school on Wednesday, which opened him up to another opportunity in the community.

On Wednesday, Officer Wagers is the community resource officer. In this role, he tries to connect with users who have overdosed before Dickinson comes to Oxford, which makes her visits much more efficient.

He also connects with known users in the community to follow up on how they are doing, even when Dickinson is not there. He has been serving Oxford as a police officer for 10 years, so many people in the community know and trust him.

Lt. Fening said the OPD does not know how they will fill this role once students attend school in person everyday, although recognizes the need in the community.