A drug and alcohol addiction forum will be held today in Shinglehouse for Potter County residents to learn more about the heroin epidemic affecting their community and what can be done to combat it.
The forum will begin at 6 p.m. today at the Oswayo Valley Memorial Library, 103 N. Pleasant St., Shinglehouse.
Potter County District Attorney Andy Watson will be presenting a program with Shinglehouse Police Chief Brad Buchholz and Colleen Wilber, drug and alcohol administrator with Potter County Health and Human Services.
Watson said they were invited by library staff, who had heard about similar talks those in the group have been giving around Potter County, as well as other area towns and in Harrisburg.
In fact, a few months ago Watson addressed the House Judiciary Committee in Harrisburg, and he has been invited by the U.S. Attorney’s office to speak at Central Penn College, located in Summerdale outside of Harrisburg, this Monday. On Oct. 15, he’ll speak again in Gettysburg.
Watson said his talks cover the C.L.E.A.N. Protocol he initiated earlier this year and how it is helping to battle the heroin epidemic in Potter County.
“It seems that a lot of the initiatives that we’re a part of here have drawn statewide attention as kind of on the forefront of being aware of the heroin problem and creating innovative ways to battle it,” he told The Era.
Today, joined by Wilber and Buchholz, who also serves as the lead officer and liaison for the Potter County Drug Task Force, Watson said discussion topics will include the signs of addiction, family support and the C.L.E.A.N. Protocol.
The C.L.E.A.N. Protocol, which stands for Concerned Law Enforcement Against Narcotics, is being enacted in association with Cole Memorial Hospital in Coudersport and Potter County Drug and Alcohol Abuse Services and comes with overwhelming support from state and municipal police in the county, according to Watson.
“It encourages people to approach law enforcement officers and officials to report they have a drug addiction issue. If they do that, we as law enforcement, with no questions asked, will help them get rehabilitative services,” he explained. “If they disclose they are in possession of or are using an illegal substance, there are no charges filed. It’s public outreach to let people know there’s help out there and that we encourage them to deal with their problem up front, rather than waiting until we find them doing illegal activity and arresting them.
“We want the public to know that we don’t want to have to arrest people, we’d rather help them get treatment and save lives,” he added.
The exception to the policy of no charges being filed is when the person reporting their problem already has pending charges or a pending investigation against them, according to Watson.
But, Watson said, it’s not just the C.L.E.A.N. Protocol that is making Potter County an example for other counties to follow in battling the heroin epidemic.
“It’s kind of a multifaceted approach, really. We’ve made close to 100 arrests (since the drug task force started in 2010), and we have been actively removing the primary heroin dealers from the streets in our county,” he said. “After we make the arrest, at that point it really depends on how we classify the individual — whether they are a primary drug dealer, an addict or a combination of both.
“The drug dealer is the one I focus on and pursue very harsh penalties for people in that scenario,” Watson said. “The addict we have to treat differently. And, that’s why we’ve initiated the DUI and drug treatment court programs and the C.L.E.A.N. Protocol.”
Watson said the reason it’s important for people to come out to the forum today is to be educated about the drug culture and how it affects their community.
“Many people don’t understand what heroin is, what devices are used to ingest it and the signs to look for,” Watson said. “Probably a lot of people don’t understand how it significantly impacts their local communities and also what they can do to help.”
He said Buchholz will be able to offer the perspective of law enforcement and can speak to the drug environment that he sees, the lingo and how drug dealers and users communicate. “He can tell us what we can do as parents, family and friends to monitor someone they know or love who might be involved in drug abuse activity,” Watson said.
“Very importantly, if a person knows the signs of heroin abuse and what to look for, they can then take the steps necessary to get help for that person,” he continued. “Heroin addicts are very good at covering their tracks, so to speak, hiding the signs of their heroin abuse, but if someone knows what to look for they can intervene sooner.”
Watson said Wilber will speak to what rehabilitative services are available and how they work. “She will also explain how a person can be assessed for services and explain some of the treatment options available, inpatient and outpatient treatment and, financially, how they can help — if someone doesn’t have private insurance or Medicare, there may be some funding available to help them,” he said.
Watson added he hopes there will be a good turnout today at the library.
Any individual seeking rehabilitative services may contact the District Attorney at 814-274-9450, Coudersport-based state police at 814-274-8690 or reach out to their local police in Potter County.
