News

Ohio Community Seeks Answers for Battling Heroin Outbreak

Rick McCrabb

10/24/2014

Oct. 24--MIDDLETOWN -- Even more imposing than the statistics -- there have been nearly as many heroin-related deaths in the area the first nine months this year compared to all of 2013 -- are the stories behind the numbers.

Tyler Herald, 26, gave his testimonial Thursday morning during the Community Call to Action Prayer Virgil for the Heroin Epidemic that was hosted at Atrium Medical Center. Herald told a room packed with pastors, medical and emergency personnel and community members that his heroin addiction sent his life spiraling downward and built a wedge between him, his 3-year-old daughter and the baby's mother.

Herald, who lives at Hope House, Middletown's homeless shelter, said he has been in and out of prison three times since he was 19 for crimes that ranged from receiving stolen property to theft to drug possession, all committed to support his growing drug habit.

During one month, he said, he overdosed 10 times and was brought back to life twice with Narcan. He has been clean for about one year.

He's a fortunate one, he said.

"I knew if I didn't stop what I was doing I wouldn't be here to see her grow up," said Herald, who hasn't seen his daughter in one year. "As an addict, you are pushing it to the limit and that's exactly what I was doing. It's a struggle every day. You are always chasing that high."

Herald said he started smoking marijuana at 14, using cocaine at 15, and by his 16th birthday, he was using "anything I could get my hands on." He was introduced to heroin when he was 17, and starting shooting up when he was 18.

Herald, who completed his sophomore year at Carlisle High School and later earned his GED, said he has buried five or six friends killed by heroin.

"You either go to prison or you're dead," he said.

There have been an increasing number of deaths related to heroin in Butler and Warren counties. During 2013, there were 76 heroin-related deaths in Butler and Warren counties, according to their coroner offices. During the first nine months this year, 69 deaths have been blamed on heroin.

So far this year in Middletown, there have been 35 drug overdoses, including 13 for heroin, two for fentanyl/heroin, six for fentanyl, three for opiates, 11 multiple drug overdoses and six are pending, according to the city health department.

The heroin epidemic has put a strain on law enforcement departments and medical personnel throughout the area. The Middletown Division of Fire officials said they have administered 25 percent more Narcan this year than they did during the first nine months in 2013.

Dr. Ralph Talkers, director of emergency services at Atrium, said the use of heroin skyrocketed 74 percent from 2009 to 2012.

He said during a recent shift in the emergency room, a man dropped off a woman in her 20s who was suffering from a heroin overdose. He said the woman was unresponsive, defenseless and near death. The medical team administered Narcan and within two minutes, she was responsive and her skin color had returned to normal, he said.

Once she became stable, she wanted to leave the ER with her boyfriend and as Dr. Talkers recounted the story, his voice cracked. He's worried the woman will repeat her heroin use and possibly die.

"It's sad to say," he said, "but this is a routine issue."

Carol Turner, chief executive officer at Atrium, said the heroin epidemic is a "great concern" because of its widespread impact on the community. She said the area needs to get its "focus around the issue."

Just to the left of the podium, 149 white roses lay on a table. Each rose, Turner said, represented one life lost to a drug-related activity in Butler and Warren counties.

"We've got to come to grips with this," she said.

DeAnna Shores, program director for the Coalition for a Healthy Middletown, said the community needs to be more proactive when dealing with those addicted to drugs. She said it's time to start removing children from homes where known drug addicts live, so the children have "at least a start."

"We need to quit responding to crisis," she said.

But that's exactly what happened in Middletown last weekend. Police responded to four calls for possible heroin overdoses on Oct. 18, and two of them died, said Lt. John Magill.

He said around 3 p.m. Saturday officers and paramedics responded to an apartment on South Clinton Street and they found Amanda Martin, 34, not breathing and without a pulse, according to a police report. Police say Martin's grandmother told them she "has had ongoing problems with heroin and that she had recently got out of rehab approximately a week ago." The Butler County Coroner's office took possession of her body.

Then three hours later officers were dispatched to a house in the 400 block of Young Street for a report of a possible dead body. Magill said Charles Perry, 53, was found dead most likely as a result of a heroin overdose. A syringe that was capped was found at the scene, according to a police report.

Magill said officers sometimes respond to several calls of possible heroin overdoses in a 24-hour period.

"It's unfortunate, it's tragic and it's gotten to the point now that it's so common," said Magill.

Middletown Municipal Court Judge Mark Wall said about 50 percent of today's court cases will be connected to heroin, either because the person used the drug or stole to purchase the drug.

"This is the worst I've seen in my 41 years," Wall said. "Instead of a war on drugs, it's a war with drugs."

When someone is suspected of using heroin, Wall said he will ask them who injected them the first time. He's stunned when they say their mother, father, brother, sister, wife or husband.

"It's a horrible drug," he said. "It will take a united effort."