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March 10, 2015 LEE COUNTY
Groups discuss heroin problem Leaders meet on what can be done BY CHRISTI WARREN
DIXON – A Dixon woman died of a heroin overdose Tuesday morning. She was 34 years old, white, and the third person in as many weeks to die of a heroin overdose in Lee County. Tuesday afternoon, on the second floor of the Lee County Health Department, a group of officials met to discuss the drug’s grip on the county, and how to stop it. Representatives from the health department, Dixon Police Department, Lee County Sheriff’s Department, Lee County State’s Attorney’s Office, Sinnissippi Centers, KSB Hospital, Dixon Park District, and Lutheran Social Services were all there. The meeting began with a
conversation about the scope of the problem, and the type of people it affects. State’s Attorney Anna SaccoMiller said she sees addicts as young as 15 or 16, and some in their late 20s. “Once they’re addicted, it’s harder to kick, so they’re still using at 27, 28, 29, 30,” she said. “They may start with something else and then graduate, or start with heroin and become an addict right away.” Dixon Police Chief Danny Langloss echoed that. “It’s a difficult issue to address locally from the supply [standpoint] because most of the supply is out of Rockford,” Langloss said. “From talking to the drug users ... it’s cheap, it’s fairly easy to get, and they’re running in packs. You don’t see people purely selling heroin in town. ... It’s a different problem to address than cocaine and marijuana.” The idea for the meeting, and the ones that will follow, was
AG TECH
Anna Sacco-Miller
Danny Langloss
sparked when a member of the public approached Cath Ferguson, the administrator for the Lee County Health Department, and asked her if she could put out a public service announcement about the problem. “I knew that it was a public health issue, but I didn’t have the expertise to tackle it on our own, so I reached out to all of our partners,” she said. “In a matter of a couple days, I was able to assemble this group.” Among the problems they see locally that need fixed are the lack of inpatient rehab centers, and a dearth of medical staff who are able to prescribe anti-
addiction drugs such as Suboxone, which specially trained doctors can give to help fight opioid dependence. Withdrawal from the drug can be lethal, and that’s part of the addiction cycle, said Natalie Andrews, director of Adult Services at Sinnissippi Centers. “This is a chronic, relapsing disease. This is an insidious disease. There is no cure.” The most serious rehabilitation treatment that Sinnissippi Centers offers is the intensive outpatient groups, which Kevin Buss, a clinician at Sinnissippi, runs. He said that part of the problem is that even when addicts hear about how harmful the drug is, that’s not always a deterrent. “The concern that I have, and that I’ve seen in clients, is everyone’s alarmed by the fact that it’s so lethal, but at the same time it really becomes a trigger,” he said. “It’s fear and intense curiosity.” For now, group members
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decided at Tuesday’s meeting, they’ll start with a public service announcement approach – to flood social media and get their message in the papers and on the radio, with a promise to do more. But for all the good intentions about improving and expanding upon local drug rehab efforts, Patrick Phelan, president and CEO of Sinnissippi Centers offered the group a solemn warning about what could lie ahead. “Of course, for all these programs for treatment and prevention, the proposed cuts are 20 percent off the top,” he said, referring to the Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget proposal and the cuts he’s recommending to Health and Human Services funding. “So, at Sinnissippi, that means about 500 people that get treatment now don’t get treatment next year. So there’s a huge threat on the horizon with funding.”
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