For many people in Southeast Alaska, and particularly Wrangell and Petersburg, the burdensome weight of drug and alcohol addiction is something they live and cope with, and fight against on a daily basis.
The most recent numbers released by the state show a marked increase in the use of illegal drugs such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine over the course of the past decade.
In a June interview, Wrangell Police Department Lieutenant Merlin Ehlers said his office has seen an uptick in the amount of narcotics flowing into the borough.
“From the information we receive, there is quite a bit of drugs running through the post office,” Ehlers said in June. “The majority of what we see is marijuana, but we also see a certain amount of methamphetamine, cocaine and pills.”
Although the drugs mentioned by Ehlers are serious, one extremely dangerous drug has not yet been seen as much in Wrangell.
“Thankfully, there is not a lot of heroin use here yet,” he added. “We know that Petersburg has that problem, but we have not run across it here just yet.”
According to Petersburg Police Chief Jim Agner, the problem of drugs in his city is serious when it comes to heroin – and he estimates an illicit trade in the opiate that nears seven figures.
“I would estimate that Petersburg consumes about $750,000 a year in heroin, and that’s in a town of 3000,” Agner said in June. “Those numbers are staggering and it’s an epidemic here with a significant percentage of users being between the ages of 16-30.”
According to the website of the Alaska State Department of Public Safety, its Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit reports, “Of all cases initiated by the Alaska State Troopers in recent years, 37-47 percent involved either drugs or alcohol, and sometimes both.”
The site also claims that those cases “includes, but is not limited to, burglary, theft, domestic violence assaults and murder. By eradicating such activity and arresting those who would profit off the misery of others, Alaska and its communities will be a much better and safer place to live and raise a family.”
In order to combat the problem regionally, the DPS runs the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs Task Force, which they claim is “a pro-active task force whose primary goal is to reduce illegal drug trafficking in Southeast Alaska. SEACAD provides support to Petersburg, Wrangell, Craig, Klawock, Yakutat, Juneau and Ketchikan police departments.”
According to their website, SEACAD has investigative personnel located in Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka and Petersburg.
And while law enforcement may be trying to disrupt the flow of illegal substances, what is to be done for those currently in the grip of addiction?
Wrangell, for its part, has no inpatient treatment facility for users of illegal drugs or excessive amounts of alcohol.
That is something one Wrangellite has a passion to change: Donna Fincher.
Having recently arrived in Wrangell with her husband, pastor Richard Fincher of the Hope Community Church of God, Fincher said she sees a need for rehabilitation services for those in the grip of drug addiction – and particularly women in need.
“I’m a recovering addict myself,” she said, having just reached her 12-year mark of clean and sober living in April. “My experience was with drugs and alcohol beginning in high school. I walked away from drugs for a while, but started using again in my early 20s. I was dating someone that was using and I eventually got hooked on heavier drugs and became addicted instantly.”
Fincher now holds a certification as a drug and alcohol counselor from Georgia, which she is converting to an Alaskan certification. She underwent 4,000 hours of training in Tennessee and Georgia for the certification, and has worked under clinical supervisors in an opiate treatment center in Chattanooga, Tenn., as well as working at Walker State Prison in Rock Springs, Ga.
“Getting clean is about a lifestyle change,” Fincher said. “You just can’t go to a treatment center and step out and be cured if you do the same things you were doing before. So, I want to do educational classes on substance abuse, relapse prevention and relationship issues first. I also want to do support groups for families.”
From there, Fincher said she wants something more than just counseling for addicts.
“Ultimately, I would like to see a halfway house for women in the community because I have tried to help others over the years, and there are more options for men than women when it comes to treatment. It would be something residential.”
One person who might benefit from Fincher’s plan, and speaking on the condition of anonymity, is a single mother in her twenties from Wrangell who related a story about her drug use – and why she wishes there was a place she could turn to locally for help with her addiction to methamphetamine.
“Meth is really easy to get here on the island, if you know where to go,” she said. “It’s a small group that use on a consistent basis and I have been a part of that for a while. I want to quit almost every day, but it’s hard when you can’t get help.”
Getting help, she added, would mean access to a place where she could detox and receive treatment in a safe, secure setting.
“Coming down is a b——, and it hurts,” she said. “You can do it at home in a couple of days by yourself, but then your friends come over and you might end up doing it again. It becomes a cycle and I wish, sometimes, I could get out of it.”
She added that she had been clean for about 24 hours when she spoke, but that she didn’t know how long her clean time would last.
“I’ll probably end up getting more again soon. I don’t know,” she said.
For youth in the state of Alaska it is a difficult proposition as well, with only 24 beds available at Eagle River, in a Volunteers of America facility.
Fincher said the next step is to go after grant money and approach the city for backing of her idea.
“We are looking to write some grants for this right now,” she added. “We’re setting up meetings with those interested in helping, and we’ll be looking forward to meeting with the Borough Assembly in the near future.”
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