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Originally airing on Thursday, July 25, 2019.

WRFA’s Jason Sample talks with local advocate Rick Huber to get his thoughts on the current state of chemical dependency in the community as well as what more can be done to reduce the numbers and also help those dealing with addiction.

Rick Huber

Rick Huber

JAMESTOWN – The number of people using heroin and opioids in Chautauqua County hasn’t gone down this year, but it hasn’t grown either.

That’s the assessment from Rick Huber from the Mental Health Association (MHA) in Chautauqua County, who took time out this week to stop by WRFA’s Community Matters program and give us an update on the state of drug addiction and recovery in our area for 2017.

Huber, who serves as MHA director of new program development, said based on the number of individuals who’ve come into the MHA so far this year it appears that heroin use has leveled off, although there has been an increase in the number of users for another dangerous drug…

“Heroin seems to have leveled off, but it has not not decreased by any stretch and we’re still seeing a number of fatal overdoses, even with Narcan available as it is,” Huber said. “But we’ve seen meth really on the rise and now we’re hearing things about marijuana cut with fetynal, cocaine, and we’re still seeing crack out there, so it hasn’t slowed down any, from our view point, at all.”

When it comes to tracking the number of deaths that heroin has caused in Chautauqua County, Huber says that remains a challenge, partly because of the county doesn’t have its own medical examiner to investigate the specific cause of death.

“It’s the structure within our county, where we have county coroners instead of a medical examiner that things can come out of,” Huber said. “I know Christine Schuyler, Chautauqua County Director of Health and Human Services, is really trying to get a handle on this and get us some accurate statistics on this because we really need that to help fight this battle.”

For the first half of 2017, the local MHA has had 8500 total visits with 411 separate individuals coming into the facility seeking peer services.  The MHA Has assisted 359 gaining access to treatment or medical services, 67 gaining employment, seven enrolling in college, 13 gaining their GED, and 130 gaining stable housing.

For more information on the MHA, stop by the facility at the Gateway Center at 31 Water Street or call (716) 661-9044.

The complete interview with Huber will be rebroadcast this weekend at noon on Sunday. It will also be posted online at our website early next week.

That’s according to the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County is reporting that 465 different individuals worked with recovery coaches in 2016. More than 90 gained or maintained employment, and 57 enrolled in education programs.

The numbers were released by Director of New Program Development Rick Huber at the MHA’s January Recovery Luncheon.

Also during the luncheon, six people were recognized for completing treatment court, eight for advancing stages on treatment court, and ten for achieving recovery goals from employment to new housing.

The MHA is staffed by recovery coaches, trained individuals who are recovering from mental health diagnosis, most from substance abuse. They work in collaboration with local treatment providers, other non-profits, and especially the Jamestown City Treatment Court to help participants be successful in attaining their goals.

To learn more about the MHA and its many programs, call (716) 661-9044 or visit www.mhachautauqua.org or www.facebook.com/MHAChautauqua.

JAMESTOWN – The drug addiction crisis in Chautauqua County has yet to see a decline.

That’s according to Rick Huber, who currently serves as CEO of the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County. Starting in 2017, he’ll transition over to the position of Director of New Program Development.

Huber was a guest on WRFA’s Community Matters program on Dec. 22 and provided an update on the effort to help those dealing with addition. Huber said currently there are about 425 people a week who are coming to the Mental Health Association’s office on Water St.. in Jamestown, seeking peer support from others who’ve also battled addiction.

“They’ve been there, they’ve come out the other side, they’re doing extremely well, and they’re helping new people work their way through it,” Huber said. “Right now we only have eight recovery coaches, but each one is handling about 53 people. The state average, they say, should be between 20 and 25.”

Huber also said that while heroin and opioids continue to be a major problem, 2016 also saw a sharp increase in the number of residents who are addicted to methamphetamine, which has also been confirmed by Child Protective Services.

“Meeting with Child Protective Services, they’re seeing an increase in their caseload as well,” Huber said. “And not only an increase, but the situations are even worse. I’ve been told they have to warn their people because in some of the houses they go in, meth is being produced and they don’t even know it. So their in danger every day.”

Huber also said that unlike heroin, methamphetamine addiction has its own challenges, which include a longer recovery period.

“Our recovery coaches are really well trained and they understand all of it, including the different stages they’re going through because of areas of the brain that opioid affects and meth affects, it takes well over a year for heroin addiction to go through all the stages of recovery, but it takes almost two years for a meth addict,” Huber  said.

Huber estimates that there are well over 4,000 people in Chautauqua County who are dealing with addiction. However, there currently are no long-term rehab services in the county. In fact, WCA hospital offers a 28-day detox and rehab service for residents, but it is limited to only helping 13 people at a time. Huber said he has been working without mental health agencies across the state to try and identify a better way to help the thousands who are dealing with addiction.

“I’d like to see a minimum of a six-month residential place,” Huber said. “I’d like to see transitional housing for mothers and children especially, but really for anyone, where they can work at the same time so they can feel safe. Otherwise they’ll go back to the same areas, the dealers are still calling them and showing up at their door. It’s hard to say ‘no’ – especially when you go back to a family and other family members are also using.”

Huber has proposed establishing a long-term recovery program in Jamestown that includes housing as well as a job. Specifically, his program would involve a commercial laundry service for area healthcare and medical facilities, considering that one currently doesn’t operate in the immediate Jamestown area. He said that project is currently seeking funding to move forward, and he’s hoping to see more support in 2017.

The Mental Health Association in Chautauqua county provides peer-to-peer support for residents dealing with drug addiction. The office is located at 21 Water Street in Jamestown and the number is (716) 661-9044.

Our conversation with Huber will replay on Christmas Day during the noon hour.

The MHA, located in the rear of the Gateway Center on Water St. in Jamestown,  provides peer-to-peer support for individuals battling drug addiction in the area. Huber said that so far in 2016, there’s been more people coming into the MHA compared to 2015 and also previous years when the opioid and heroin epidemic first took hold in the area.

“We’ve already doubled this year what we saw last year and it’s just going to keep increasing,” Huber told WRFA. “My office is downstairs in the facility and there’s always new people going by that I haven’t seen before. There’s a group that I [meet with] every Thursday and I had 20 new people in that group that I hadn’t met, so we’re seeing new people on a daily basis.”

Huber also said that unfortunately, there’s also been an increased number of drug-related deaths in 2016 compared to previous years.

“They’re getting worse. We had 16 deaths in the Jamestown area in March alone, and we get a couple more every week,” Huber said. “We’re seeing more of the family members start to speak out,  not only in our community but across the state. We’re seeing obituaries posted that are saying that their child died because of an overdose. That’s good that they’re talking about it. We need to get away from the stigma and get the awareness out there and we’re seeing that happen.”

While Huber indicates that the MHA has seen an increase in visitors and there’s also been an increase in overdoses, he added that more is being done to raise awareness about the problem, and that state and local health officials are working toward improving services to provide better assistance to those battling addiction. On the treatment side, he mentioned the effort by WCA hospital to increase the number of beds for its in-patient rehab program. He said he’s also continuing to push for a residential facility that could provide the long-term help that is sometimes required to battle addiction.

On the public awareness front, he said he’s also pleased with the effort by a number of groups in the area. That includes the Hope Chautauqua Coalition – which is coordinating the Hope & Healing for Chautauqua Week – taking place from June 11 until June 17 at several different areas throughout the county.

More information on the Hope & Healing week can be found on Facebook at the Hope Chautauqua Page. WRFA also recently featured an interview with organizers of the event during our May 19 edition of Community Matters.

Anyone interested in learning more about MHA or seeking help can call (716) 661-9044 or visit mhachautauqua.org.

Kia Narraway-Briggs, Mental Health Association (MHA) executive director and recovery coach trainer, provides a brief lesson in recovery coach training to Lillian Ney, MHA Advisory Board chair; Rick Huber, MHA chief executive officer; Randy Sweeney, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation executive director; and Dale Robbins, MHA Advisory Board member. A recent grant from the Community Foundation provided funds to hire a full-time recovery coach at the Mental Health Association.

JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua Region Community Foundation has made a contribution to a local human services organization to help provide better support for individuals battling addiction.

The Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County (MHA) has received a grant from CRCF that will be used to hire an additional full-time recovery coach for 2016.

In presenting the grant, CRCF Executive Director Randy Sweeney said that individuals who are battling an addiction need to know they have their community’s support behind them. He said CRCF is also encouraged by the work the Mental Health Association is doing with its recovery coach program.

MHA is a peer run organization staffed by recovery guides and coaches. MHA staff are trained individuals who are recovering from mental health diagnosis and most are recovering from substance abuse.

According to MHA CEO Rick Huber, in the month of March (2016), 16 people in the city of Jamestown alone died as a result of drug addiction.

To learn more about the Mental Health Association and the programs they offer, call (716) 661-9044 or visit www.mhachautauqua.org or www.facebook.com/MHAChautauqua.

All services and programs are offered free of charge.