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National Overdose Awareness Month Spotlight: Colorado Health Network · Healthier Together: Larimer County's Public Health Podcast

0:02
Welcome to Healthier Together, Larimer County's
0:04
public health podcast, where we come together
0:06
for healthier lives, connected communities, and
0:08
real conversations. From your local public health
0:11
team, I'm your host, Tom. And I'm Joanna. August
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is National Overdose Awareness Month, a time
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to remember those lost to overdose, provide space
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for grief, connection, and healing, and highlight
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the work happening in our communities to prevent
0:25
overdose and support recovery. Throughout the
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month, we're featuring organizations across our
0:30
community that work to prevent overdose, support
0:33
recovery, reduce stigma, and connect people with
0:36
care. Today, we're learning more about the Colorado
0:39
Health Network with Izzy Pike, Director of Prevention
0:42
Services, and Rebecca Lara, Prevention Services
0:45
Manager. Izzy and Rebecca, thank you both so
0:48
much for joining us. Thanks for having us. Happy
0:51
to be here. To start, can you tell us a bit about
0:54
the Colorado Health Network and the work that
0:56
you do? Absolutely. So we started in 1983 as
1:00
a grassroots response to the AIDS epidemic. You
1:03
know, it really kind of started off as like helping
1:05
people with end of life care, helping them get
1:07
to their appointments. And then as treatment
1:09
evolved, so did we. And so we started doing medical
1:12
case management, all geared towards helping people
1:16
get undetectable, which means that they cannot
1:18
transmit the virus to another person. So as we
1:22
hit that point, then we started looking at other
1:24
ways that we could expand and what that looks
1:26
like. So now the routes of transmission for HIV
1:30
are very similar for hepatitis C and other communicable
1:33
diseases. And so our executive management and
1:36
our board just decided that we were going to
1:38
expand and look at how we can prevent HIV, Hep
1:41
C and other transmissible diseases. What does
1:44
HIV prevention, testing and treatment look like
1:48
in Colorado? Very robust. We actually do implement
1:52
multiple evidence -based practices. to eliminate
1:55
the spread of HIV. We have our free HIV and Hep
1:59
C and STI tests that we can offer three days
2:02
a week. We also have our case management. They
2:06
work closely with folks living with HIV to address
2:10
any types of treatment that they might have,
2:12
whether it's payment, whether it's insurance.
2:14
And then we have several trusted providers that
2:17
we can send folks to. And then it also looks
2:20
like PrEP, which is pre -exposure prophylaxis.
2:23
It's a pill that people can take once daily that
2:25
decreases their chances of contracting HIV if
2:28
they come in contact with the virus. It's a pill
2:30
that they take once daily, and it's 98 % effective
2:34
when taken as prescribed. And that's also how
2:37
we get undetectable, meaning untransmissible.
2:39
If you are engaging in all of these prevention
2:41
efforts, it's virtually impossible to get HIV
2:44
at this point, which is pretty cool. Speaking
2:46
of reaching that point of being undetectable,
2:49
how has HIV treatment changed over time in the
2:53
decades that Colorado Health Network has been
2:55
in this work? It was really a grassroots response,
2:58
right? And so it was, I would say, harm reduction
3:01
in the purest form of like, how can we show up
3:04
for people and make them as comfortable as possible?
3:07
And so when it previously started, you know,
3:09
people were taking 40 pills a day, and that was
3:12
really just to manage the symptoms. And now they
3:15
are taking one pill a day. And there's even been
3:17
advancements to the point where there are injectable
3:20
medications. And so they can get an injection
3:22
that lasts for two months. And there's now a
3:24
new one coming out where it's every six months
3:26
they get an injection and it's what they need
3:28
for their meds, which is really cool. And then
3:31
what regions of Colorado do you serve as an organization?
3:35
We serve Morgan County, Logan County, Weld County,
3:38
Larimer County, Sedgwick, Washington, Yuma, and
3:42
Phillips Counties. So the northeast corner of
3:45
Colorado. So Izzy, can you tell us about the
3:48
work that NCHN does around substance use? So
3:51
we really focus on prevention, harm reduction,
3:54
treatment, recovery planning, and coordination.
3:57
And there's so many different ways that that
3:59
looks, right? And so for prevention and harm
4:01
reduction, I'm actually going to kick that over
4:03
to Rebecca because that's her bread and butter
4:04
over there. Yeah, so harm reduction and prevention
4:08
definitely is all around like the SAP services
4:11
or syringe access point services that we provide.
4:14
So safe use supplies, testing strips, naloxone
4:17
distribution, and then a lot of education just
4:20
around safe use, around wound care, and then
4:23
the naloxone overdose response training and handing
4:27
that out to community partners as well. But we
4:29
also dabble in a little bit of the treatment
4:32
aspect in that we do host our suboxone clinic
4:34
every Wednesday evening with the Family Medical
4:37
Center. So we do get a wide variety of folks
4:41
accessing that every Wednesday night. And it's
4:43
low barrier. So I believe it is the lowest barrier
4:47
in the state. So just for our listeners at home,
4:50
can you tell us what naloxone is and how it works?
4:53
Yeah, it is an opioid antagonist. There you go.
4:57
Big words. And essentially, whenever there is
5:00
an opioid that is sitting on the receptor of
5:02
a brain, it essentially just knocks it off that
5:05
receptor. It gets the breathing going again.
5:08
It just helps somebody kind of come back to being
5:11
able to breathe normally, being able to regulate.
5:14
Can you explain what harm reduction is for us?
5:16
So there's a few different ways to look at harm
5:18
reduction. And I think that the way that the
5:20
National Harm Reduction Coalition does it is
5:22
best. So there's little h and little r, and then
5:25
there's big H and big R. And so little h, little
5:28
r, that's a lot of what we're doing. It's the
5:31
practical set of strategies aimed at reducing
5:33
the harms associated with risky activities. You
5:36
know, to take substance use out of it, if you
5:38
are driving, that is an inherently dangerous
5:40
activity. And so harm reduction would be wearing
5:42
your seatbelt, getting your license, following
5:45
the laws of the road. And so that's little h,
5:47
little r. Big H, big R is more of a social movement
5:51
where we're focusing on how society has disenfranchised
5:55
folks who use drugs and communities of color.
5:58
And how do we bring that power back to them?
6:01
And, you know, not just make space for them at
6:04
the table, but really kind of recognize that
6:06
they built the table and therefore they should
6:07
absolutely be around it. And so that's what harm
6:10
reduction is to us. Can you tell us about the
6:12
numbers of people that utilize your services?
6:14
Oh, good question. In the past. month we did
6:18
see over 600 folks accessing supplies and about
6:22
1800 interactions total so it was a pretty significant
6:27
amount of folks just in the past month so just
6:30
for the month of July since we are always doing
6:32
our reporting we have had 29 reported overdoses
6:37
reversed which is great and again that is just
6:40
self -reported reversals we could have had more
6:43
which is a win for the community But that's just
6:46
the number of people that are comfortable sharing
6:48
that information with us. 140 overdose reversals
6:52
for the calendar year thus far. 251 reversals
6:57
last calendar year, which is pretty significant
7:00
as well. And then just to get a little into the
7:03
weeds here, we've had about close to 2 ,000 doses
7:07
of naloxone distributed out into the community
7:09
and around 290 trainings thus far this year.
7:13
Wow. Yeah. And just to chime in with some state
7:16
numbers, last year we actually had 2 ,000 overdose
7:21
reversals reported to us. That's amazing. And
7:23
so, you know, it's really the sense of like people
7:26
who use drugs are the first responders in this
7:28
situation. And so how do we get the tools to
7:31
them so they can save a life essentially, right?
7:34
I was hoping you could tell us a little bit more
7:36
about that overdose prevention training, that
7:38
naloxone training. What does that look like?
7:41
We offer it to everyone and anyone. So I think
7:44
everybody should be equipped with some type of
7:46
training. So we offer it to CSU students. We
7:49
have undergrad students that have asked us to
7:51
train them. We have different community partners
7:56
that are just working with folks that might have
7:59
substance use and they want to know what's the
8:01
best way to respond to an overdose. Really anyone
8:04
and everyone. Sometimes it's somebody that comes
8:06
in and they just have a family member that they
8:08
know is using opioids. And so they want to know
8:10
what's the best way to support in case of an
8:12
emergency. Gotcha. So I know that naloxone is
8:16
being stocked more in first aid kits and around
8:18
different organizations. I am kind of curious,
8:20
though, what would you say to somebody who was
8:22
maybe feeling a little bit apprehensive about
8:24
maybe administering it? Is it an involved process?
8:28
It's similar to an EpiPen, some might say, depending
8:30
on the type of naloxone you're administering.
8:33
We do have the injectable naloxone, which is,
8:37
again, similar to the EpiPen in that you would
8:39
inject it even through clothing because the syringe
8:41
is big enough to kind of poke through like a
8:44
sleeve or a pant leg. And then we also have nasal,
8:47
which is also pretty low maintenance as far as
8:51
like you don't need to necessarily make sure
8:54
that somebody is properly adjusted, just that
8:56
it is soaked through the nasal membrane. Yeah,
8:59
even if they aren't breathing or they don't seem
9:01
very responsive, there's no wrong way to administer
9:04
naloxone. And Rebecca, can you tell us a little
9:07
bit about these fentanyl test strips, just what
9:09
they are and how they work? So they are essentially
9:12
a tool that folks can use to test whatever substance
9:15
they're using. They dilute the substance, and
9:17
then after it's diluted and mixed in well, they
9:20
use the test strip, submerge it in the water
9:22
for a couple of seconds, and it'll either show
9:24
a positive or a negative. And again, that is
9:28
to help folks, whether it's they are seeking
9:30
a substance or they're trying to avoid a substance.
9:32
And then it gives them a more informed approach.
9:35
Again, puts the ball in their court, provides
9:36
that autonomy that we want to encourage with
9:40
our folks. To jump back a little bit, you mentioned
9:44
the open suboxone clinics that you offer. Yes.
9:48
Can you explain what that is and how it works?
9:51
So like Rebecca said, we partner with Family
9:53
Medicine Center. And rotation of their residents
9:55
come and provide this service to us. You know,
9:58
it's low barrier, high access. And so that means
10:00
that they looked at the standards of care for
10:02
medication for opioid use disorder, formerly
10:05
medication assisted treatment. And they stripped
10:08
off every barrier that they could to ensure that
10:10
they could get this medication. And so what Suboxone
10:12
is, is it's an opioid agonist. And so instead
10:16
of, you know, where Naloxone, where it just kind
10:19
of would go and cover our opioid receptors. Suboxone
10:22
is going to go in and have little bubbles and
10:24
kind of fill our opioid receptors. So then it
10:26
satiates the need of like getting that substance
10:29
and it kind of helps curb the craving. And so
10:32
it's really the medication that's aimed at helping
10:35
a person gain chemical control of their brain
10:39
again. It takes almost 18 months for our brains
10:42
to repair after we use a substance. And so Suboxone
10:45
is a really wonderful tool for folks to just
10:47
kind of like figure out what they need to do
10:49
with their life and go from there. And so they
10:52
come in once a week for scripts at this point.
10:55
Yes. But this has been going on since 2018. And
10:58
so we have folks who are getting, you know, monthly
11:00
scripts and are wildly successful on this medication.
11:04
Colorado Health Network also provides some behavioral
11:06
health services. Could you tell us a little bit
11:09
more about that? During our syringe access hours,
11:12
we also have what's called Connect, and that
11:14
is our behavioral health team. Folks can stop
11:17
in, they can chat with a Connect provider, whether
11:20
it's external processing, trying to get an emotional
11:23
support animal letter done, or gender -affirming
11:26
care letters as well. So they really are trying
11:29
to connect you to whatever resources you need
11:32
or whatever supports you need for the day based
11:34
off of what goals are. And they can also move
11:37
to a point where they're providing therapy for
11:39
folks too. And so initially it starts off as
11:41
anonymous, right? So low barrier, high access.
11:44
And it has the potential to grow based off of
11:47
what that person needs. It really kind of just
11:49
starts off as a warm hello during an intake for
11:52
a syringe access participant. And then it kind
11:54
of grows from there. We've actually had several
11:56
folks engage in this program, and it's been really
11:58
cool to see it happen. We've also talked about
12:01
your syringe access programs. Can you just explain
12:04
what a syringe access program is? So I think
12:07
a lot of folks, when they think of syringe access,
12:09
they might call it syringe exchange. We are not
12:12
a traditional exchange in that folks have to
12:15
bring used syringes to us in order to get ones.
12:18
It is all about, again, just having safe use
12:20
supplies, some sterile supplies. We are trying
12:22
to prevent any spread of viruses, any exposure
12:28
to bacteria, and just making people feel well
12:31
-equipped and welcomed. We don't want to coerce
12:35
people into supplies, so saying, if you give
12:37
us this, we'll give you that. It's all just about
12:40
what they need for the day and how we can support
12:42
them. Where are those services available here
12:45
in northern Colorado? That would be our Greeley
12:48
office, and then we also have our Fort Collins
12:50
office. And what sort of impact for communities
12:53
have we seen these programs have? We've actually
12:56
seen a tremendous decrease in HIV transmissions.
13:00
And while I don't have data to support this,
13:02
but I'm going to say it anyway. So it's a lot
13:04
cheaper to give someone a 10 cent syringe and
13:06
the supplies that they need to stay safe for
13:09
themselves and a space to come dispose of their
13:11
syringe than it is to pay for someone to go get
13:14
wound care at the emergency room than it is to
13:16
pay for someone to like go through their endocarditis
13:19
or, you know, any skin tissue bacteria or even
13:22
HIV or hep C, right? Like it's $4 ,000 a month
13:25
to treat HIV. It's $86 ,000 a year to treat hepatitis
13:30
C. And so I would say like there's a huge fiscal
13:32
return on investment, but there's also a social
13:34
return on investment in the sense of you have
13:37
somewhere where people can safely dispose of
13:39
syringes. They're not throwing it on the street.
13:42
They're not just putting it in their trash and
13:44
then risking the safety of, you know, a needle
13:47
stick for a garbage worker or needle stick for
13:49
law enforcement officers. It's really, it's really.
13:53
I don't know. It's just it's a wonderful public
13:55
health measure. And so, I don't know, I feel
13:57
very lucky that Northern Colorado has invested
13:59
in this. Another question I had was just in regards
14:02
to that syringe access program. Is that just
14:04
state funds or are you guys relying on any kind
14:07
of federal funds? So we are currently funded
14:10
and we're very grateful to be funded through
14:12
the Larimer County Opioid Council. And so if
14:15
you're not familiar, the opioid settlement funds.
14:18
are a result of this huge lawsuit that happened
14:20
nationwide against the Sackler family and other
14:23
parties that essentially over -prescribed opioids
14:26
and caused the opioid epidemic. How did the Colorado
14:30
Health Network land on these priorities for services?
14:33
As we discussed earlier, it was really kind of
14:35
about routes of transmission and what that looks
14:38
like for HIV. And so if we look at those fluids
14:40
and when we're coming in contact with those fluids,
14:42
we're also looking at hepatitis C. So hepatitis
14:45
C is spread just by blood. And then if we look
14:48
at the activities in which you're coming in contact
14:50
with those fluids, you're looking at sexual activities
14:53
and you're looking at substance use. And so Colorado
14:56
Health Network, as we saw the evolution of the
14:59
AIDS epidemic, as we started seeing the opioid
15:01
epidemic, Colorado Health Network was like, all
15:03
right, we're going to focus on this. Are there
15:05
priority populations that you serve as an organization?
15:09
Primarily people living with HIV and who are...
15:13
potentially impacted by HIV and other medical
15:16
concerns. What risk factors and, on the other
15:20
side, resilience factors uniquely impact the
15:23
groups that you serve? We could have a whole
15:27
hour on that one. Go for it, Rebecca. I think
15:30
that there is a lot of stigma as far as the folks
15:33
that are accessing services. When you think of
15:37
syringe access, I think just the word syringe
15:40
in general is like a scary word for a lot of
15:42
folks. And so that could be anybody that uses
15:44
a syringe, whether they're diabetic, whether
15:47
they're using substances or whether it's for
15:49
hormone replacement therapy. So I think there
15:52
are like a plethora of folks that really are
15:54
trying to access supplies and in an affordable
15:58
and safe way. And so. There are going to be a
16:01
lot of risk factors as far as like, what's the
16:04
best way I can access these supplies? Is it through
16:06
a friend? Is it through reusing my current supplies
16:09
that I have? Because there's too much shame or
16:12
stigma surrounding the supplies that I need currently.
16:15
And I think it does build some resilience as
16:18
far as like trying to have these conversations
16:20
with providers and doctor's offices, trying to
16:23
have these conversations with family members
16:26
or other community members. When we think about
16:30
harm reduction, a really common phrase that people
16:32
say is nothing about us without us. And so at
16:36
the end of the day, if Colorado Health Network
16:38
stopped existing, and I won't knock on the table
16:41
because you told me not to, you know, knock on
16:44
wood, people are very resilient and they are
16:47
going to continue forward and taking care of
16:49
each other in the same way that they did before
16:51
we existed. And I think that that really speaks
16:53
volumes about the folks that we serve because,
16:55
you know, They show up in community and they
16:58
care for each other. And that's a really special
17:00
thing. And so I think that the community itself
17:02
is a resilience factor. So in the number of years
17:05
that NCHN has been doing this work, how have
17:08
you guys seen substance use in your response
17:10
change? I have been fortunate to be with CHN
17:14
in some capacity since 2015. And initially when
17:18
I started, I was an HIV case manager and they
17:20
took me under their harm reduction wings and
17:22
they taught me all the things. And so it was
17:25
very quiet. syringe access and harm reduction,
17:27
it was a very quiet thing that we did. And I
17:30
don't know if that was because funding was limiting
17:33
us at the time or what that looked like, but
17:35
we didn't go out in the community and wave our
17:38
harm reduction freak flag. Now we wave our harm
17:42
reduction freak flag. And so we've seen an evolution
17:45
with that. We've seen an evolution in how we
17:48
care for people who use drugs in our community.
17:51
I think that the health department and the health
17:53
district and Summit Stone, Northern Colorado
17:56
Health Alliance, all of these wonderful community
17:58
partners have really just kind of shown up to
18:00
eliminate stigma, to educate the larger community
18:03
about mental health and substance use because,
18:06
you know, they are often co -occurring. And so
18:08
I've seen a lot of progress specifically in Larimer
18:11
County about how we're showing up for folks who
18:13
use drugs in our community. How would you say
18:15
Larimer County is different or is there anything
18:17
unique about Larimer County from the other counties
18:19
that you support? I come from a different county,
18:21
so I do think that Larimer County definitely
18:24
is more collaborative in how they're addressing
18:27
opioids in the community, whether it's through
18:30
law enforcement collaborating with us, your local
18:33
syringe exchange, whether it's the health department.
18:35
I think that everybody is really just like they
18:38
have their stuff together, right? We're all after
18:40
the common good, and I can appreciate that. There
18:44
is legislation that supports harm reduction,
18:47
naloxone administration. and syringe access programming.
18:50
And there are counties that even when it's legal
18:54
and even we do the appropriate stakeholder engagement,
18:57
they don't want us there. And, you know, it's
19:00
a lot of the nimby, you know, not in my backyard
19:02
or like, oh, well, we don't use drugs in our
19:05
community. Come on, let's talk about this. Like
19:07
drugs are definitely used in our communities.
19:09
And so I think that Larimer County has like an
19:11
openness of looking at it from a legal perspective,
19:14
but also like. Larimer County is also a very
19:17
educated community. And so like when they hear
19:19
the public health of it all and they hear the
19:21
fiscal return on investment and all of that,
19:23
it's a very sensible solution to a problem that's
19:27
not going to go away. We talked about this a
19:30
little bit earlier, but how does stigma impact
19:33
the work of prevention and harm reduction? Significantly.
19:38
Next question. No, I think that I was looking
19:46
at statistics the other day as far as like, I
19:49
know we touched on overdose response and there's
19:53
a stat out there like one in three overdose reversals
19:58
is done through a bystander or somebody else
20:02
in the community that just so happened to be
20:04
there. And so I think removing stigma means removing
20:07
those barriers to accessing things like naloxone
20:10
in which. folks would probably be more inclined
20:12
to help save a life or there would be more life
20:16
-saving tools out there. I do think that because
20:19
there's so much stigma around substance use that
20:22
it's hard to find the right sources or resources
20:26
for assistance, whether it's a Suboxone clinic
20:29
or a syringe exchange or a syringe access point.
20:32
Yeah, I would say that so often we attach morality
20:35
to substance use. And like, you know, we've been
20:41
socialized as a society to view it as a moral
20:43
issue. Like, oh, you use drugs, therefore you
20:45
are bad. And I think like that's how it impacts
20:49
us. So even though people might look at us thinking
20:52
that like we're enabling people who use drugs,
20:54
people are going to use drugs forever and ever.
20:56
Amen. We always have. And so how do we keep people
20:59
safe? You know, how do we keep people alive?
21:01
Because, you know, someone is somebody's everything,
21:06
right? Like you never know who's walking through
21:08
our doors and accessing services. What steps
21:11
do you think we can take either as individuals
21:13
or as a broader community to help reduce that
21:17
stigma and better support those impacted by substance
21:20
use and overdose? Substance use is not going
21:23
away as much as a lot of folks might not appreciate
21:27
it. There is always going to be a level of substance
21:29
use out there. And so making sure that we are
21:32
accepting and like this is where this person's
21:35
at and how are we going to help you reach your
21:37
goal today? How are we going to be supportive
21:39
of you today? I think those are really important
21:41
things that we can ask ourselves, whether it's
21:44
as a doctor, whether it's as a neighbor. I would
21:46
just say, talk about it. You know, it's not going
21:49
to go away if you don't talk about it. And so
21:52
I think if you hear somebody say something stigmatizing,
21:55
my favorite thing to do is pretend to be confused
21:58
and then have them explain themselves. And that
22:01
works very well every time to be like, OK, let's
22:03
talk about the fallacies here. And so I think
22:05
the more that we talk about it with our inner
22:07
circles, with the people around us, the more
22:09
that we challenge those ideas, the better that
22:12
we're going to be. And that's how we can tackle
22:15
it. Is there a story that you could tell us about
22:17
maybe somebody who's used your services? I was
22:20
really fortunate to actually be a part of building
22:22
up our clinic with Family Medicine Center. And
22:25
it was so incredible to see the way that Dr.
22:29
Marchand was teaching these residents how to
22:31
show up for folks. You know, on the flip side
22:33
of the coin, how our participants were teaching
22:36
the residents how to show up, like they were
22:38
going to talk to them about harm reduction and
22:40
like how to engage in the space. And I'll never
22:43
forget, we had this one individual who was using
22:46
multiple substances, right? So they were using
22:48
meth, they were using heroin. And, you know,
22:51
we always tell people, let's shoot the alligator
22:53
closest to the boat. You're going to want to,
22:55
like, it's not the meth that's the scary one
22:58
for them. It was the heroin. And so we got them
23:00
on Suboxone, we got them engaging. And they had
23:04
been turned down several times from other health
23:06
clinics about their concerns with like scars
23:09
on their face because they were told like, well,
23:11
if you would just stop using meth, you'd be fine.
23:14
And our physicians listened to them and said,
23:19
OK, well, let's go get you some. I think it was
23:21
like tea tree soap or mint soap. Turns out this
23:24
individual had scabies and like. In our building,
23:29
they were able to build trust with a health care
23:31
provider to address their needs. And then that
23:35
person went and established primary care with
23:38
a doctor who helped. Each moment that someone
23:40
engages in our services brings out the humanity
23:43
in what we're doing. And so to me, that just
23:47
always makes me happy. Like you hear lots of
23:50
wonderful stories about people showing up for
23:52
folks. But that one, I don't know, it was cool
23:54
to watch a doctor change his mind and really
23:56
show up for that person. engaging with somebody
23:59
through STI and Hep C testing and letting them
24:02
know, by the way, like we also offer these services
24:05
at our location, you know, down the street. And
24:08
so then this person came down to access services
24:11
for supplies. And then within like the second
24:14
or third interaction, they were accessing our
24:16
Connect services because they were having a lot
24:19
of different things that they were trying to
24:20
process, a lot of different emotions going through
24:23
crises. And our Connect team was able to then
24:25
connect them to outpatient treatment because
24:28
they were just in a phase where they're like,
24:30
you know, I think I'm done with this. I'm ready
24:32
to pursue different avenues. And so they were
24:35
connected to outpatient treatment. And it's kind
24:38
of just been like a roller coaster, right? They
24:40
come back in and they let us know, like, here
24:42
are my updates. This is what's going on with
24:44
me. Is this provider for Connect here so I can
24:47
talk to them about it? Or they've said, can I
24:49
come and talk to one of the local community partners
24:52
that are embedded in your space? Like Sober is.
24:54
We have great peers that are also there. offering
24:57
their services. And so I think wherever folks
25:01
are, whether it's in active use or whether it's,
25:04
you know, they're already in recovery, there
25:06
are a lot of supports in our space for them and
25:08
it's a safe space. So they know that being in
25:12
the space doesn't jeopardize whatever sobriety
25:15
they're pursuing, but at the same time, if they're
25:18
done with that journey. We're not here to say,
25:20
oh, man, you're back. You know, we're just here
25:23
to say, OK, what do you need for today? And we
25:25
help get them what they need. And, you know,
25:28
we're here tomorrow for whatever the next need
25:30
is. What brought both of you to this work? It
25:34
was a fluke, is what I would tell you. So I was
25:37
previously working for another organization and
25:39
I had to break up a fight among teenage boys
25:43
at seven in the morning on a Sunday morning.
25:45
And I was done. I knew that I wanted to be in
25:49
social work. And so I kind of like rage applied
25:52
for CHN. Like I heard about it at the time it
25:55
was NCAP. I heard about NCAP all the time. So
25:58
I'm like, sure, I'll try it. And I fell in love
26:01
with it. I really fell in love with the way that
26:04
the organization shows up for the community.
26:06
I fell in love with the people. I think that
26:08
the people that we serve are truly some of the
26:11
best people that exist. It was really bizarre
26:15
to have people say, you know, this is the first
26:18
time that I've had someone look at me and say
26:19
hello today. And so being able to be a space
26:22
of comfort and a space of love and acceptance
26:25
for folks is really special. I took a sabbatical
26:28
is what they joke about. And so I left thinking
26:31
I was going to go change the world in another
26:32
profession. And after a year and a half, I practically
26:35
begged to come back because I was like, I miss
26:38
it so much. a very weird, unique job. And I'm
26:43
grateful for it every day. Once you start, you
26:47
find out all of the connections that you have
26:49
because like, you know, my family doesn't talk
26:51
about substance use or HIV. And I found out a
26:54
lot of things after I started working here because
26:56
they were like, oh, this is relevant to you now.
26:59
And so I had connections that I didn't even know
27:01
I realized. I just have always worked with vulnerable
27:05
populations. So I've worked with adults that
27:08
have developmental disabilities in group homes,
27:11
did some home health care for a while. And then
27:14
I got a foot in the door with case management
27:16
for folks experiencing homelessness. That definitely
27:19
broadened the horizon as far as like, what are
27:22
the barriers that folks are facing nowadays?
27:25
What stigmas are they facing and why? And after
27:28
I started digging around a little bit more, doing
27:30
some soul searching, I was just like, wow, like
27:33
our folks, whether it's somebody who is newly
27:36
unhoused or somebody who is just not stable in
27:39
current situation, the community supports are
27:41
lacking. And so trying to find different ways
27:43
to fill those gaps in community support, I stumbled
27:47
into CHN. I heard its name a couple of different
27:50
times and I was just like, there's that name
27:52
again. What is CHN? And then. Met Izzy along
27:57
the way. She's like, you should apply. She convinced
28:00
me. She's like, you should come this way. So
28:02
I applied, and here we are today doing some harm
28:05
reduction, and it's been great. Is CHN doing
28:09
anything in recognition of Overdose Awareness
28:12
Month? We are out of our Fort Collins office.
28:14
We are encouraging folks to come in the 24th
28:18
through the 28th. That whole week, we have different
28:21
slips that we're encouraging folks to fill out
28:23
just around encouraging messages. names of loved
28:27
ones, whatever you really want to write on it.
28:29
We have some very passionate staff that are into
28:31
origami, so they will be folding all of these
28:35
little slips into flowers. And then on the 30th,
28:39
we will be doing a ceremony from 5 to 6 o 'clock,
28:43
kind of just holding space for folks that have
28:46
lost loved ones or to celebrate lives that we
28:49
were able to save during that time as well. So
28:52
if listeners would like to know more or get involved
28:55
with your organization or just support your work,
28:57
where can they go? ColoradoHealthNetwork .org.
29:00
They can apply as a volunteer. They can make
29:03
a donation or they can apply. We are hiring currently.
29:07
So if you are in the market and you like what
29:10
you heard today, I encourage folks to apply.
29:12
What kind of positions are you guys hiring for?
29:14
And Fort Collins is currently a program coordinator,
29:18
which gets the best of both worlds as far as
29:21
working with case management and with the prevention
29:23
team. They are the middle ground. Neat. And if
29:28
all of that seems intimidating, just walk in.
29:30
Our staff, they're chatty, they're funny. We
29:34
will welcome you with open arms. We will help
29:36
you get to where you need to go. So if someone
29:39
is struggling with substance use or knows someone
29:41
who is, what resources would you point them towards?
29:44
We have a wide range of community partners right
29:47
now that we collaborate with. Yeah, there's a
29:50
lot. Come on in. We'll get you connected with
29:52
somebody. If you don't know where to start, definitely
29:54
encourage you to start with NCHA. And I would
29:57
add, you know, Northern Colorado has done a really
30:00
tremendous job of creating a hub and spoke model
30:02
when it comes to substance use. And so there's
30:05
essentially no wrong door. So wherever you go,
30:08
we're going to make sure that you get to the
30:09
right place because we're here for the person's
30:11
success. And not for the agency's glory. Thanks
30:14
for sharing and spending some time with us today.
30:17
Thanks for having us. Thank you. You can find
30:20
links to learn more about the topics we discussed
30:22
today in the show notes. If you have a question
30:25
about public health in Larimer County or a topic
30:28
you'd like us to discuss, let us know. Email
30:31
us at healthiertogetheratlarimer .org. Thanks
30:35
for listening, Larimer County. Until next week,
30:37
stay well, stay connected, and remember, we really
30:40
are healthier together.