DEVELOPING: An unfortunate topic…
Nobody enjoys writing, or even reading, about the steady stream of daily heroin overdoses here on Cape Cod.
Especially the recent seemingly record-breaking numbers in the Greater Hyannis area.
But emergency resources are being stretched to the limit… and people are dying. To not address the ‘elephant in the room’ would be grossly irresponsible at this point.
By now we’re all sick and tired of hearing reports about the number of overdoses. But, just this past weekend, Barnstable Police responded to 6 ODs in just one 8 hour shift! With another coming shortly after the beginning of the next shift at midnight… Yarmouth had at least one that night as well.
The drama ranges from a mom suddenly nodding off behind the wheel and crashing her car, her child in the back seat, with rescue rushing her overdosing adult passenger to CCH… to people quietly wasting away in bedrooms, all by themselves.
Everyday, police and firefighters are heroically saving lives using Narcan and CPR all day long, which is far too often. Hyannis ambulances are often overworked and sometimes unavailable. It’s not unusual for the HFD to drop a medic at one location and respond to another. The fire department that typically has it hands full preventing and putting out real building fires, is now putting out metaphorical fires related to the ongoing drug epidemic. Just because they revive someone, it doesn’t mean they won’t soon see them overdosing again.
Politicians have been unusually silent… at least here in Hyannis/Barnstable… or perhaps I’m not looking in the right places for their leadership. On the town website, I just got finished attempting to read a town report on recent turtle strandings on Sandy Neck…
… I couldn’t finish it and had to log off.
I’m sure someone, somewhere, is paying attention to the unprecedented number of deaths and near-deaths due to illicit drug use. When you see helpless addicts overdosing and fading away first hand, one cannot begin to write it off. It’s hard to believe there is nothing else that can be done to turn this situation around.
I recently spoke with a firefighter who was frustrated at what he has been seeing. He was frustrated because the information is out there about what is going on, but nothing seems to be getting done in terms of looking at the larger underlying problems which have brought us to where we are now. When following the first responders to these scenes, I’m amazed at their energy and dedication… but I’m also worried about their health as well.
We cannot continue to ignore this.
The thought of politicians possibly ignoring this situation for selfish political reasons infuriates me… and I hope I’m wrong…
This issue is so big it puts most other news on the back burner. It has reached a point where it is hard to believe it can possibly get any worse, but then it does…
It used to be the occasional fatal traffic accident was big headlines… especially when it was a teen cut down in her prime. But young people are being cut down in their prime all week long and I’m astounded by the silence.
There will be consequences if leaders choose to ignore this epidemic… and they will not be pretty.
And to those who say it doesn’t effect them because they don’t know anyone addicted to heroin… you need to know it will touch everyone to some degree, even if you do not know someone addicted to heroin. It could mean that when you’re out at a restaurant in Hyannis and one of your family falls suddenly ill, your loved one will have to wait much longer for an ambulance to become available. Which, despite mutual aid from neighboring towns, happens frequently here in town.
Don’t kid yourself, this issue is real and it is not going away without taking an organized look at it.
I’ve also heard people write it off by saying things like, ‘it’s everywhere in this country.’ Which may be true to some degree, but highly irrelevant as well. The fact it is here is reason enough to want to stop it, who cares if it’s in other places?
So, did you hear the news about the stranded turtles on Sandy Neck? Frankly I don’t give a [bleep]!
In the coming days, Hyannis News will be gathering statistics from police and fire agencies. They will be published and highlighted… The goal will be to document and expose the stark realities related to the current epidemic.
Again, I do not like writing about this. I’d rather be drinking eggnog and watching cartoons. But unfortunately it cannot be ignored. (It’s a lot to address in just one post, so please stay tuned…)
Too much is at stake.
12/18/2014
Robert Bastille,
P.S. – Tonight's HyTown Vignette is brought to you by Edith Piaf... [No translation necessary...]
