27-03-2025
Owensboro's efforts to fight the fentanyl epidemic
OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — Recent reports by the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy show fentanyl involved in over 70 percent of overdose deaths in the state.
'The fentanyl on the streets [is] currently 100 times more potent than morphine. Most of the time they're pressed pills so you don't really know how much you're getting that makes it more dangerous. It was really pushed in the poor communities…Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, things like that, mining communities ,' says Melanie Stanishia, a psychiatric mental health nurse at RVBH.
Experts say the drug—was originally designed to alleviate severe pain that follows surgeries and injuries sustained in the military—but was altered in the nineties to be more addictive. It also sends dopamine, a feel good hormone, into overdrive.
In Owensboro, River Valley Behavioral Health says one of the biggest challenges is it's commonly used without people knowing …in almost any drug people have access to.'So, you could buy a marijuana pen and then find out that it has fentanyl in it. We have tested people for that, and they do have it in there. It's not necessarily what you intended to buy or use, but that's how they're getting it in. There's a lot of times it is very unintentional,'says Stanishia.
RVBH is working to save lives through medical assisted treatment, which combines FDA approved medications, like Suboxone. It's combined with counseling to help what they describe as the 'whole person'.
The goal is to get people through the hardest parts of withdrawal and then slowly reduce the dose over time for clients as they move forward on their sobriety journey.
'Whenever you're coming down off of the drug, it's the worse it is literally the worst feeling you'll ever feel. You're just so nauseated. You have the sweats, tons of anxiety,' says Kattie Baker, who's currently enrolled in MAT at the facility.
'A lot of times people say [they] feel like they're crawling out of their skin,' says Stanishia.
Studies on the treatment style show a 59 percent decrease in overdose deaths.
Baker says MAT is what's helped her. She was sober for several years, and even enrolled herself in therapy, before realizing she needed help to stay the course.'You're want to use… It completely blocks it out. [At least] for me, it does. People can be clean for ten years and still have triggers. I was getting to that point where I was scared I was going to use. With the overdoses I've had in the past, I was very scared I was going to end up killing myself,' says Baker.
Baker says she's looking forward to the day where she no longer relies on the medicine, but has since repaired her relationship with her family, regained custody of her daughter and rekindled things with her significant other.
'I started praying a lot, and I started leaning on God. I truly believe that that's one of the big reasons I [continue to be] successful in sobriety,' says Baker.
That belief is something many in recovery hold onto, including women in the Friends of Sinners program, a Christian-based treatment center across town.
Megan Stout and Kieara Aubrey, both 24-years-old, say their faith has made the difference.
'I've tried other programs before this, but secular programs. I just relapsed every time,' says Aubrey.
'I started using at the end of 2019…beginning of 2020. I used up until I got arrested June of 2023. I was in there for a while. I found God in that jail cell,' says Stout.
Both women share stories of one drug leading to another and using the substance to work through anxiety, depression and even loss.
'It just numbed me to everything, numbed me from the world you know? At the end, it was to the point that I was using and not getting high anymore. I was ready to do something different,' says Aubrey.
Aubrey has lost both of her parents, one to an overdose. She says giving her six-year-old son a life different than hers plays a huge factor.
'I've achieved a lot. I got my G.E.D.. I'm supposed to start school in August. I got a really good job. I just bought my first car. I'm doing really well. I've been through a lot with my parents and stuff, and I just don't want.. I want my son to have a better life than I did,' says Aubrey.
Stout is just one month away from graduating out of the year-long program.
'[Fentanyl] killed one of my best friends. This stuff is killing people. It's not worth it. I did get on the proper medication [for depression and anxiety] that I need. I always go to the bible, contact my sponsor, or I talk to one of the girls here. I go play with my nieces,' says Stout.
As treatment options continue to evolve, officials say the goal remains the same: to turn the tide on addiction and give more people the chance to live a drug-free future.
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