I was standing on this portion of the sidewalk on Kensington Avenue today as I was chatting with a
man, a long time resident of Kensington.
I'd never met him prior to this moment.
As we stood there talking about how this area has become an open-air
absolutely public no-need-to-hide-it grassroots overdose prevention site, men
and women were sticking needles in their necks, tourniqueted arms and legs all
in the name of 'taking their much-needed medicine.' These
men and women bear (real or blog names) such as Amy, Ashley, Gina, George,
Jose, Jesus, Joseph, David, Manuel, Rashime and so many more.
Used and uncapped syringes originally meant for insulin injections, piled up on the
lighter colored portion of the sidewalk to the right of the step in the picture
I've linked you to above. As this man
and I casually chatted in the presence of heroin, fentanyl and all sorts of
mystery ingredients entering the veins of men and women I've come to love so
very much, I reached in my pocket to be sure that my dose of Narcan was
available. It was and yet, I knew it
would not be needed. Thanks to
Prevention Point, there is probably as much Narcan on this street as there is
heroin!
And that's the point of this
blog…
These
collections of human beings gathered together, whether they be
under bridges designed to hold rail lines or on sidewalks of local 'mom and
pop' businesses such as are on Kensington Avenue, serve a vital and life-saving
purpose. These men and women who would
prefer not to have SubstanceUse Disorder as an officially recognized diagnosis in their lives take
their potentially instantly deadly medicine because their bodies DEMAND that
they do so, not because they want to nor choose to do so. It is no longer their choice to take or not
take their medicine.
In a very real way, these collections of human beings gathered on the sidewalks are a grassroots level hospital ward where the patients are also the medical service providers. Some patients inject themselves. Others can't and so the medication nurse - another patient - provides the injection. If someone starts to seriously overdose to the point of needing Narcan, the rapid response team - other patients - steps in to provide the life-saving drug and all standard life-saving procedures.
In a very real way, these collections of human beings gathered on the sidewalks are a grassroots level hospital ward where the patients are also the medical service providers. Some patients inject themselves. Others can't and so the medication nurse - another patient - provides the injection. If someone starts to seriously overdose to the point of needing Narcan, the rapid response team - other patients - steps in to provide the life-saving drug and all standard life-saving procedures.
For those of us who
have never walked down this path of Substance Use Disorder, decide now to intellectually
accept this demand of their bodies even if you can't understand it with a firsthand
understanding.
Once you accept
this fact, even if you can't totally understand it, we can begin to work
together to make progress on doing something positive about solving this
issue.
Nearly 100%
of the men and women on these streets are reliant on Medicaid for financial
coverage of their health care needs.
The
inadequate levels of reimbursement to medical facilities are so insufficient
that many places simply cannot afford to take these wonderful human beings in
as patients. Those that do focus on
Medicaid patients can't afford to provide decency, dignity, nor respect in
their settings. The end result is a
higher death rate among Substance Use Disorder patients on Medicaid compared to
those with private insurance.
This MUST be
corrected!
I don't pretend
to have the answers…
I do know
this…
It's Time to
Plow Down Medicaid Mountain!
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