HOPE drug court helps those struggling with addiction in Portage County

As the opioid epidemic continues to take lives in Portage County amid the COVID-19 pandemic, drug courts such as the Help, Opportunity and Progress Through Education Program (HOPE) offer rehabilitative treatments to assist those struggling with addiction.

 

Portage County Common Pleas Court Judge Becky Doherty certified her HOPE drug court with the Ohio Supreme court in March 2017. Her program aims to rehabilitate those struggling with opioid and drug addiction so they can reintegrate themselves to a sober mindset.

 

Eligible participants for the Doherty’s drug court include those that are charged with a felony offense (excluding sex and abuse offenses), including those that face substance abuse. The voluntary program consists of a minimum 14-month process.

 

“There are four phases,” Doherty said. “At the beginning, they have to be in an IOP (Intensive Outpatient) program, which is at least three hours a day, three times a week. They have to do individual treatment, they have to meet with their probation officer at least twice a week, they have to come to court once a week minimum to see me on Thursdays, (and) they are required to do at least three sober support meetings per week.”

 

Doherty said the intensity of program is designed to curb participants from relapsing.

 

“It’s every single day they have something they have to do towards their recovery, so it’s very hard to work. That’s why we allow and provide a lot of support financially through our grants. We’re able to help them with housing and transportation and that kind of thing to alleviate the necessity to have to work.”

 

The drug court received federal grant funding shortly before the pandemic started in 2020, which the court uses to help participants with daily living expenses while they complete the program.

 

The pandemic forced some aspects of the program to close their in-person services. Doherty said the lack of in-person services such as counseling and probation meetings put participants at risk.

 

“We saw an uptick in in deaths and overdoses because we had folks on a path that was very, very intense, as well as very hands on,” Doherty said. “When initially the pandemic hit – as much as we tried to do things in person – there were months that probation couldn’t really be open to have people come in. The treatment agencies had to do everything virtually. The meetings are all stopped other than online. And that really hurt so many of our people in terms of their recovery.”

 

Opioid-related overdoses and deaths rose since the beginning of the pandemic, with Portage County witnessing a 33 percent increase in overdoses from 2019 to 2020.

 

Associate Director of Portage County’s Mental Health and Recovery Board Karyn Kravetz said the overdose deaths continue to rise in the county, as 33 residents have passed away this year from opioid-related deaths.

 

Kravetz said the Mental Health and Recovery Board continues to promote the public awareness of fentanyl, which has appeared more consistently in recreational drugs.

 

“The question is, do people know what they’re using? Do they know the strength of what they’re using? That’s definitely part of the problem,” Kravetz said. “We’re trying to get the awareness out. If you look at our Facebook page, we’re trying to raise awareness of the fact that fentanyl is getting mixed into all kinds of drugs right now. People should never use alone – if they are using (opioids, they should) carry naloxone. We also have fentanyl strips available for people to test drugs to see if there is fentanyl mixed in cocaine, etc.”

 

Doherty said the increase in fentanyl-related deaths stems from those that were not aware fentanyl was in the drug they consumed.

 

“The uptick in overdose deaths is in large part, I think reasonably because of the inclusion of fentanyl the dealers are using because it’s so cheap,” Doherty said. “They can cut their drugs they’re selling, they can cut it with fentanyl, and still make more money on it. So obviously it’s an economic thing for the dealers.”

 

To avoid fentanyl-related deaths from those that enter the court system, Doherty immediately incarcerates someone if they test positive for any substance that includes fentanyl. Doherty said she does this to avoid residents from reentering society and immediately relapsing and dying from additional fentanyl exposure.

 

“From a family member’s perspective, they ask me to keep them in jail until I can get them into a treatment program,” Doherty said. “No parent wants to get that phone call. I get this feedback all the time from parents who are in court, especially who comes to see their kids appear. They’re appreciative of the fact that their child, grandchild, whatever is receiving that kind of attention. They’re not being forgotten. I’m doing everything I can including incarcerating them to keep them safe, at least until I can get them into a residential type of treatment program.”

 

Doherty said community support for those struggling with addiction is integral to creating an atmosphere of public awareness. When participants of the HOPE drug court successfully graduate from the program, multiple members of the community are invited, including public officials, police officers and the participant’s family members.

 

“When they do graduate, we make a really big deal of it,” Doherty said. “We have a big graduation for them. They have to present a petition; they have to write about their journey to sobriety and they have to present it to the whole group.”

 

Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov.