Keene Sentinal and Mike Mulligan Develped New Series On Locale Heroin Problems.

I initiated this Keene Sentinel set of articles about heroin in Hinsdale. I talked about Hinsdale's heroin troubles to Mr. Landen... talked about these Hinsdale sorrows reflects all the communities surrounding us.

The Sentinel suggested I disclose to Hinsdale I was working on this story with them. Locale people might want to more talk to me about heroin issue after this. Give me a call or pull me over while I am biking. I will pass on the information to the Sentinel or have Mr. Landen give you a call at home. Or just listen to you. I can take whatever you got.  

I know for a fact the Hinsdale Police chief and Hinsdale selectmen have been recently inundated by phone calls from the news media and request for interviews, inquiring about the troubles of our police department.     

A glimpse into heroin's grip on local communities

Posted: Wednesday, August 17, 2016 12:00 pm

By XANDER LANDEN and CALLIE GINTER Sentinel Staff SentinelSource.com

The opioid epidemic that’s leading to unprecedented numbers of drug deaths in New Hampshire has given rise to grim statistics. But within the facts and figures is a more anecdotal claim that keeps getting repeated.

“Everybody in our state at least knows of someone who has a child or a student or someone they’re connected to who has a drug problem or has overdosed,” said Jennifer Horn, chairwoman of the state Republican Party, in an article published by RealClearPolitics last November.

In August, gubernatorial candidate Colin Van Ostern said much the same thing.

“We all know someone, some of us in our own families, who have fallen into the (devastating) opioid trap, who have fallen into addiction or a substance abuse disorder and we have to work together to overcome it,” said the executive councilor, a Concord Democrat, when he unveiled his strategy to tackle the opioid problem if elected.

But in the heart of a community weathering the crisis, how well does this assumption match reality?

The Sentinel conducted an informal survey to find out.

Of 50 people randomly selected and interviewed over a two-day period on Keene’s Main Street, 38 of them — 76 percent — said they know someone with an opioid addiction personally or through a mutual acquaintance. Twenty-seven said they’re touched by the opioid epidemic at a close range — through a co-worker, teacher, friend or family member — while the other 11 knew of an addict second-hand.

Three, including Anna Sullivan, 25, of Keene, said they’re addicted to or recovering from opioids themselves.

Sullivan’s a recovering heroin addict who said she’s been sober for two months. She said she knows many people addicted to opioids, mostly heroin, and the survey results don’t surprise her. They shouldn’t surprise other locals either, she noted.

“It’s always been around, and it’s always been a problem, and more people are doing it than you think,” she said.

Ray Lindsey, 29, of Surry, runs a coffee stand in Railroad Square. Roughly three weeks ago, he said, he called the police about two separate opioid overdoses he saw in the square on a single day.

Lindsey also has a personal connection to opioid addiction; he said a relative’s in recovery for heroin use, and spent time in jail on drug charges.

The Sentinel’s survey was unscientific and limited by a range of factors. The sample size was small, the respondents pulled from a single geographic area and the data likely influenced by people’s willingness to be candid, in face-to-face conversation, about a difficult, stigmatized subject.

But it offers insight into just how many people are being affected by the crisis, and was conducted at a time when Keene is seeing a spike in opioid overdoses.

From January through May this year, the Keene Fire Department, on average, used the opioid antagonist Narcan just under 12 times per month, to respond to overdoses for an average of approximately six patients. But in June and July, the department has used Narcan at a higher rate.

In June, the department used Narcan 21 times for 12 suspected opioid overdoses, according to a news release from Fire Chief Mark F. Howard. In July, the department responded to seven overdoses and administered Narcan 14 times.

Last Thursday alone, there were as many as five overdoses in Keene on the same day, three of which were confirmed to be linked to opioid use, according to Deputy Fire Chief Jeffrey Chickering. Keene firefighters responded to these overdoses and administered Narcan three times within an eight-and-a-half-hour period, Chickering said.

As of the fire department’s most recently released data, three people in the Elm City had died from opioids so far this year. Statewide, officials project 482 deaths from opioids and other drugs by the end of 2016.

Those interviewed in downtown Keene offered a glimpse not only into opioids’ grip on the city, but also their reach in the surrounding region, through the accounts of people from Alstead, Richmond, Harrisville, Peterborough, Troy, Gilsum and Jaffrey.

Kim Fallon, chief forensic investigator for the state’s chief medical examiner’s office, said that though The Sentinel survey’s sample size was small, the results aren’t surprising.

“It seems accurate. It seems that the problem is so prevalent that everyone knows somebody or knows somebody who knows somebody who is addicted,” she said.

Standing under the marquee of The Colonial Theatre, a retired emergency room doctor from the area who preferred to remain anonymous said his son has been in recovery from heroin for seven years. He said opioid addiction isn’t limited to people of only one class, race or background.

“It’s all walks of life. Children of doctors, children of anybody. No one is immune to this.”

Callie Ginter can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1409 or cginter@keenesentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @CGinterKS. Xander Landen can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1420 or xlanden@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @XLandenKS