While the opioid epidemic is devastating various demographics, adolescent drug overdoses are gradually rising across the country. While national organizations are making efforts to combat the harrowing crisis, local parents and drug recovery advocates emphasize the need for solutions specific to the dynamic of opioid abuse within the District of Columbia.
Last week, the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE) held a press conference in D.C., announcing a generous distribution of $1.3 million in grant funding to Sesame Workshop, a global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street and the American Academy of Pediatrics to combat the youth opioid and overdose crisis.
“Our decision to expand our focus in this way comes out of a range of consultations and inputs. After two decades, it’s clear that it is a multigenerational public health issue. Focusing on younger children in families already affected by opioid use disorder (OUD) provides opportunities to change the trajectory of the next generation,” said Dr. Karen A. Scott, president of FORE. “At the same time, we are seeing sharp increases in youth overdose rates particularly in the current high-risk environment due to the exposure of fentanyl.”
The organization’s family and community-based programs include projects examining opportunities for school-based services, projects for integrated family support into OUD treatment services, and training school staff about adverse childhood experiences, while also providing children at high risk with “healthy activities and screening for mental health needs.”
According to the DC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Epidemiology and Surveillance Report examining opioid-related fatal overdoses, there were seven fatal overdoses for adolescents under the age of 19 between January to June 30, 2023, in comparison to seven total adolescent opioid fatalities for the entire year of 2022. As of June of 2023, D.C. counted 154 total opioid deaths in comparison to only 13 in the state of Maryland, and six in Virginia (not including those deemed “undomiciled” or “unknown”).
The Faces of the Opioid Crisis Across Washington, D.C.
While organizations like FORE’s initiative are contributing to the welfare of local youth plagued by opioid addiction, Ambrose Lane Jr., chair of D.C.’s Health Alliance Network, highlights the importance of addressing the unique circumstances of the opioid crisis as it concerns District natives to ensure initiatives are impacting Black youth.
“Most of the opioid deaths among White, young people are in the form of pills, whether or not those pills are laced with fentanyl-like oxycontin and other prescription drugs that are laced with fentanyl, but in the District, it’s a different matter,” Lane Jr. explained. “The fentanyl is in the drug supply whether or not you are talking about marijuana or cocaine, and that includes marijuana products such as gummies, brownies, and all kinds of things. So there is a higher susceptibility to younger people in the District of Columbia that does not come from prescription pills that are laced.”
Lane Jr. noted data showing increasing numbers of opioid deaths among those between the ages of 16-29 ranking relatively low compared to the older adults who are dying from fentanyl, but still increasing with no ending in sight.
When the Crisis Hits Close to Home
Tauheedah Washington, CEO and founder of “Mobile Moms,” knows the painful reality of witnessing a child battling the dangers of opioid use. Washington’s son, Tajir Washington, was only 21 years old when he lost his life to an opioid overdose by way of percocet covertly laced with fentanyl.
Washington shared her perspective on the disparaging inequities when considering the lack of preventative resources available to predominantly black communities.
“I feel as though you have community events that provide narcan, which is great– and the testing strips– but where is the treatment? Where are the counseling services? It’s [few and] far between in urban, Black areas where they are providing the tools. God forbid someone is overdosing, you have narcan available on hand, but narcan is not the solution for someone who’s battling a drug addiction. They need to be in treatment,” said Washington.
The concerned mother questioned, “Where are the drug treatment facilities to help rehabilitate and detox these individuals and get them clean? And even in the school systems does the DCPS system have enough adequate counselors that can specialize in substance abuse to even help these children, or are they specialized to properly provide counseling on a substance abuse level?”
Although national-level organizations attempt to create change in the growing crisis, local drug recovery advocates are not sure the District maintains adequate infrastructure to properly repair a community of people needing help to stay well beyond the grips of addiction.
“March of this year saw the highest number of opioid deaths in any given month in the District of Columbia,” Lane Jr. explained. “The District has a very weak public health campaign on the issue of opioids and fentanyl. It’s one of the things that we have advocated for in calling for a public health emergency: that the District enhance the public education campaign about opioids, especially to be able to reach young people.”
