Beating the Stigma: 'It takes a community to help fix someone who has an addiction'

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio — Art Fowler has been a first responder in Jefferson County, Ohio for more than 2 decades, as both a police chief and an EMT.

And what he’s seeing is the biggest drug overdose spike to date.

"It has gotten out of control from where it was to where it is now," he said.

The approach by law enforcement has changed in treating people who are struggling.

"Before there was no out, no avenue for anyone to explore,” Fowler said. “Or for us to send them to where they might be able to get help in lieu of maybe the first charge or two."

Battling addiction is rarely something that can be done alone.

"It goes back to the saying it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to help fix someone who has an addiction," Fowler said.

Fowler has been an EMT almost as long as he's been a police officer. He saw departments go from dealing with one overdose a year to them dealing with it daily.

Localizing treatment is important. Having resources in your backyard is important.

“If people see the decency of these counselors and these nurses, the people that run these, people are more likely to come in," Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said.

"They will not judge somebody who's addicted or suffers anxiety or depression."

Beating the stigma, Fowler says, needs to continue forward as a group effort.

“It’s going to take us all to reverse this trend,” Fowler said. “It's just not law enforcement, it's not just mental health.

"We all gotta work together to get this ship righted."