By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Massachusetts—and the nation—face an epidemic and Somerville is not immune. In four months starting on Nov. 1 of last year, 185 people in the Bay State died from heroin overdoses according to the State Police, and that number does not include Boston, Springfield or Worcester. Deaths from drug overdoses now surpass deaths from motor vehicle accidents nationwide, according to an October 2013 report from nonprofit Trust for America’s Health. That report also found that between 2000 and 2010, the number of states that surpassed the alarming benchmark of more than 10 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 increased sevenfold—from five states to 38. One of those states was Massachusetts, which rose from a rate of 7.5 deaths to 11—an increase of 47 percent.

Tragically, Somerville is all too familiar with the devastating impacts of opioid addiction. When I first took office, our city was in the midst of its own epidemic, suffering from high rates of suicide and drug abuse among our youth, particularly related to OxyContin and heroin. We had to find a way to intervene early, stop opioid abuse before it began, and provide supports to those already affected. That meant we had to work collaboratively with all our stakeholders, from mental health professionals to law enforcement and school officials, embracing and supporting the vulnerable members of our community with every service available—education, intervention, support and treatment. We had to come together as a community, form a unified front and heal together. And that’s how we have to combat this epidemic today—through collaboration, and it should not stop at city borders.

Ten years ago, we brought the substance abuse prevention effort Somerville Cares About Prevention under the Health Department to strengthen community services and bring together our community partners. We also tapped the expertise of the Institute from Community Health in Cambridge, which poured over the data and identified links between those who had fallen to substance abuse and suicide. Prevention trainings for community stakeholders spread the message about drug prevention throughout our community. We convened a task force that led to the creation of the Trauma Response Network, a group of community volunteers including educators, coaches, health professionals, and police officers, who we trained in responding to suicides, suicide attempts, drug overdoses and other traumatic incidents. Focus groups for suicide survivors and crisis counseling and programs supported victims of the epidemic, their family and their friends. In 2005, the epidemic subsided, and we have continued our prevention efforts. But the threat is still there.

Today, however, we know that a collaborative approach that taps into the wealth of resources in our community and addresses the problem from every angle—and before it begins—is the model for combating opioid addiction. Lifetime OxyContin use among our youth has fallen 66 percent over the past eight years, along with less use of alcohol and marijuana, but we cannot lose our resolve in the face of this insidious epidemic. Much of the news coverage today focuses on the availability of Narcan, the drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and save people who can then get the treatment they need. Having Narcan available to our first responders is important, and our police officers and firefighters are currently undergoing training with Cataldo Ambulance Service and should be equipped with the drug this month thanks to an agreement with Cambridge Health Alliance. However, Narcan addresses the problem when addiction has already gotten its hooks into our children, friends and family. We need to do the work at the front end as well, as we had to learn a decade ago. The work of saving a life starts long before anyone dials 911.

We need as a region, state and nation to go back to the approach of investing in prevention, education and intervention. We’re still doing that in Somerville today, and expanding our efforts, working with Cambridge, Everett and Watertown in a collaborative funded by a state Department of Public Health grant. Just this week, our Trauma Response Network held another “How to Save a Life” program for the public.

But as a state and a nation, we have foolishly cut back on those investments. The federal sequester in 2013 forced a $168 million cut in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), which included $83.1 million slashed from grants for substance abuse treatment programs. The sequester also led to cuts in the state Probation Office’s drug and mental health treatment for people on supervision after release from incarceration. It’s horribly no surprise that our state and nation now faces a public health crisis from rising levels of opioid abuse.

Fortunately, our state and federal leaders are working to reverse that trend. SAMHSA’s budget for fiscal year 2014 restores most of the sequestered funds and $130 million more in youth-focused mental health prevention and treatment programs. Gov. Deval Patrick has also declared a public health emergency and committed $20 million to increase drug treatment and recovery services in Massachusetts. When we made those investments in the past, they saved lives. It’s an encouraging step in the midst of a terrible crisis that can affect anyone.

And it can affect anyone. The victims of addiction are people we know. I know people near and dear to me who have fallen victim to addiction—family, friends, young men I’ve coached in athletics.  Sadly, many of us today have some experience either directly or indirectly with addiction, and it is changing our mindset. When we can embrace addiction’s victims and survivors, their friends and family, and take a collaborative community-wide—and region-wide—approach, with support from the state and federal government, we can once again beat back this epidemic.

For addiction prevention and support information, please contact Somerville Cares About Prevention (SCAP) through Director Cory Mashburn at 617-625-6600 x2570 or cmashburn@somervillema.gov, or Clinical Youth Specialist Patty Contente at 617-625-6600 x4325 or pcontente@somervillema.gov.