The Centre County Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative held a candlelight Remembrance Ceremony on International Overdose Awareness Day in front of the Centre County Courthouse on Tuesday to remember community members who have been lost to overdose.
During the event, the courthouse was illuminated in purple, which is the recovery movements’ official color. It will remain so throughout the month of September in honor of National Recovery Month. During the month of September, purple ribbons will be hanging throughout the county to bring awareness to the issues of substance abuse disorders and overdoses.
The HOPE Initiative was formed in 2016 as a collaboration among various community groups and concerned citizens to eliminate substance abuse, including the unsettling rise in opiate drug use and overdoses.
Since 2013, there have been 31,426 people who lost their lives a result of a drug overdose in Pennsylvania — 129 of those deaths occurred here in Centre County. It is estimated that there are presently 23 million adults living in long-term recovery.
“Overdose deaths shatter families, friends and their communities. At least one in four families in Pennsylvania has been impacted by the chronic disease of addiction,” Karri Hull, county director of criminal justice planning, said during a county board meeting on Aug. 17 when the commissioners proclaimed the month’s events in the county. Hall added,
“During a time when overdose deaths are staggering, the HOPE Initiative wants to remind everyone that prevention works, treatment is effective and recovery is possible.”
“During the pandemic, this disease and this recovery that we hope all of our community members seek, did not wane. … It has strengthened … so our resolve as we improve out of this pandemic is to make sure that we talk even more about the services available,” commissioner Michael Pipe said.
Commissioner Steven Dershem, who is on the advisory board of the HOPE Initiative, said the isolation that people have faced during the pandemic is a concern for the group.
“One of the challenges that we see here in Centre County is how the number of overdose deaths vacillate. Some years we have very few, other years it spikes. We don’t exactly know why that is, but certainly the pandemic last year had an impact on people coming out and requesting services,” Dershem said.
He said there are several programs in the county that can help, and “there are a lot of opportunities for people to educate themselves and remove stigmas. … Recovery is possible.”
William Stauffer, the executive director of Pennsylvania Recovery Organization Alliance, told the commissioners that he is an example that recovery is indeed possible.
“Recovery is not only possible, it is probable, if we give the people the kind of services they need to get better. I am living proof of that,” Stauffer said.
Stauffer has been in long-term recovery since the age of 21.
“I barely graduated from high school. I am now a college professor. I run an organization,” Stauffer said.
He added, “The only thing really remarkable about me is that I am not remarkable in the recovery community. Not only do we get better, but when we get better, we get involved in public service and involved in our communities.”
Echoing Dershem, Stauffer said the first step is eliminating the stigma of talking about addiction and recovery so “that people can feel like they can get help without shame or stigma.”
“We must encourage relatives and friends of people with substance use disorders to implement preventative measures, recognize the signs of problem, and guide those in need to appropriate treatment and recovery support services,” Hull said.
If anyone is struggling with or has a family member struggling with substance use, the county encourages them to reach out to the Centre County Drug and Alcohol Office at (814) 355-6786.
This story appears in the Sept. 2-8 edition of the Centre County Gazette.
