Lyn Anderson has been keeping an eye on things.
She pays attention to the scanner groups, and she’s plugged into the recovery community. While overdose death statistics for this year will take quite some time to be finalized, Anderson has concerns that there will be a jump in drug overdose deaths related to the pandemic.
“The frustration and the inability to pay your rent, now you don’t have a job, your meetings and support groups, now all of that is gone,” Anderson said. “It’s getting better for people, but this is something they shut the doors on really quickly.”
Anderson, who works at Recovery Cafe Clark County, is referencing some of the changes that happened to recovery support groups back in the late winter and early spring.
Many important outlets for folks became virtual or had other consequential alterations. Some places have resumed in-person groups, Anderson said, but it’s still a hard time to be in recovery for addiction and trauma.
If you go
What: Overdose Awareness Day.
When: 4 to 6 p.m. Monday.
Where: Off Fifth and Reserve streets in Vancouver. It’s a drive-by or walk-by event. Drive or walk west on Fifth Street by Fort Vancouver to see the displays or get resources.
Online screening: From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. there will be an online screening of “Written Off.” View the documentary about addiction by going to https://southwestach.org and clicking on “Upcoming Events” on the Southwest Washington Accountable Community of Health homepage.
“People are struggling with the lack of connection,” Anderson said.
That’s part of what Anderson hopes people will find at Monday’s Overdose Awareness Day event. People can stop by the event and get resources and talk with people who have knowledge about substance use.
Because of the pandemic, there won’t be a large gathering or any speakers, but people can sign up to watch a documentary about addiction online.
Anderson has a personal connection to drug overdoses. Her son Ryan Furness died in 2012 from a heroin overdose days before he would have turned 19.
“It’s still hard to know all he’s missing out on, and what he could have been, and the fact I know sobriety and recovery exists in long term,” Anderson told The Columbian last year.
The work of Anderson and many others appears to be making progress. Overall overdose deaths decreased by 4.1 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state Department of Health reports that Clark County’s overall overdose deaths fell from 80 deaths in 2017 to 46 deaths in 2018, but the 2018 data is still preliminary.
Anderson said gains have been made because of policy changes, more resources directed toward the issue and people speaking up and raising awareness.
“The things we are actively doing are helping,” she said.
