Opioid overdoses are down. Officials hope this program keeps it that way

It’s just a fact of life that getting someone to talk about a traumatic experience isn’t likely going to happen unless the person across from them has lived that same experience.

It’s the same for opioid addicts. They don’t want to sit across from a stranger who has no real understanding of what brought them to addiction and the eventual consequences.

That lack of understanding on a personal level is one aspect that can ultimately lead them back to using. But they will talk to someone who has walked in their footsteps.

That’s the idea of Manatee County’s pilot Peer 2 Peer program funded by the Legislature in the amount of $500,000. The program has hired six recovering addicts who are trained and certified coaches who don’t sit around and wait for addicts to come to them.

They are hitting the streets and the jail seeking out struggling addicts, sharing their own stories of addiction and recovery and, more importantly, listening to their peers.

“It’s not been easy getting this going,” Josh Barnett, health care services manager for the county, told the county commission Tuesday. “But nothing worthwhile ever is.”

The program hit a two-month delay while trying to clear its six new coaches through state-mandated extensive background checks. Several Manatee County commissioners criticized the state’s lengthy process, but hope there were some lessons learned in this fairly new program.

But those issues have been resolved and the coaches have been very active in the community already. Nichole Ward is one of them.

“We are out there everyday trying to get into the community and jails everywhere to help everyone,” Ward said. “This has changed my recovery as well. It’s been life changing. Everyday I wake up, including Saturday and Sunday and ask what I can do for work today. I’m excited you gave us this chance and hopefully you will see the numbers and know know we are saving lives.”

Barnett said thanks to a variety of reasons overdoses in Manatee County have dropped 80 percent since the height of the epidemic when the county was the epicenter of it all. However, there’s more work to do.

“Our 20 percent (of overdoses) is still higher than surrounding communities,” Barnett said. “The goal now is for the long journey to recovery.”

After receiving the state funding, Manatee County awarded the grant to Sarasota-based First Step. Bob Piper, First Step administrator, has been training the coaches.

“Peer 2 Peer is new to this community and yet, it’s known to be highly effective,” Piper said. “I’ve really fallen in love with these six people I’ve been training. They shared a life experience. They go to the jails and those people come up to them because these coaches can say, ‘I’m you.’”