Diego considers himself happy.
The 49-year-old man, who is identified by his first name only for privacy reasons, thinks back to some dark moments in his life – related to drugs.
He said his brothers introduced him to drugs when he was 12 and lived in his hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts. By the age of 17, Diego, who was of Puerto Rican descent, said he not only used drugs but also traded in them. He said the drugs plunged him into a spiral of addiction, which severed his family ties and landed him in jail several times.
But the drugs at least did not kill him, he said during a telephone interview with relief.
“I think I’m happy. I lost a nephew in December 2020. I lost two of my four brothers, one in 2008 and one in 2018. It’s all about overdoses, “he said. But I do not have to be my brothers or my nephew. “
Diego spoke to Noticias Telemundo of Casa Esperanza, a behavioral health facility in Boston, and one of the few U.S. centers that offer detoxification and mental health services in Spanish.
The substance abuse and mental health services of the federal government, or SAMHSA, described the issue of uncontrolled opioid use in the Latino community as a “matter of urgency” in a special report issued in 2020.
With the coronavirus pandemic – and the childbirth, depression and financial stress it has caused – the use of opioids in the country has skyrocketed, studies have found. According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths rose by a historic increase of 16.9 percent. More than 81,000 deaths were reported in the 12 months ending May 2020 – the highest number of deaths from an overdose in a 12-month period in U.S. history and one of the factors that led to an annual reduction in life expectancy in the country. something that has not happened so dramatically since World War II.
The CDC does not yet have complete data on overdose deaths in the months after May 2020, but as the pandemic is ongoing, experts fear that the death toll from opioid abuse during the global health emergency will be much higher.
Some states have seen a worrying increase in cases among Latinos.
Increasing Latino Deaths
In Maryland, the Opioid Operational Command Center reported that deaths related to opioid use increased from January to September 2020 by 16 percent among non-Hispanic whites and 13 percent among non-Hispanic blacks – while Latinos saw an increase of 27.3 percent has.
There are no complete data yet on drugs that caused the most overdose deaths in 2020, but fentanyl and methamphetamine (or a mixture of the two) appear to be the most common anesthetics behind deaths. This may be in response to the fact that heroin imports were affected by the pandemic, while the other two opioids were still circulating in the country as usual.
“Our Spanish are the ones who are dying,” Diego said. Sometimes he finds it hard to believe that he was able to participate in a recovery program like that of Casa Esperanza, where demand is huge and growing.
‘The cases we get during the pandemic were very high, double [the usual], ”Said Orlando Colón, 55, who directs Casa Esperanza’s residential recovery program for men, which provides six to nine months of treatment to patients in need of ongoing care.
“Unfortunately, we are now full. If one of the 50 beds we have is emptied, we will call the next one on the list, ‘he said. Those who are unable to enroll and cannot afford separate housing end up in shelters or on the streets, where it is common for them to continue using drugs.
Colón said it is even more difficult for immigrants, especially those who do not have a legal status, who are sometimes too scared to get help. The inability to access the necessary help in a timely manner contributes to the aggravating addiction problems and increases the chance of death due to overdoses.
Effects increase for the most vulnerable
The outbreak of the coronavirus has affected people suffering from addiction in various ways, Colón said.
“Many have asked family members for help, but family members are afraid to open their doors due to the pandemic,” he said. Personal counseling services are influenced by group meeting restrictions. “Before there was direct counseling, but now a lot of it is on Zoom and it’s getting harder.”
Before Diego joined the recovery program, he said he had served a prison sentence for a drug-related case. He said those with mental health issues in prison suffered because of the pandemic; weekly sessions with a specialist, for example, were discontinued, except in emergencies.
“They also took away all study and work programs and visits,” Diego said. People who suffer from addiction who have been released from prison and do not have a cell phone or computer have more difficult access to digital platforms to get life-saving help.
Colón, who has worked at the center for 14 years, said depression and economic stress contribute to issues of addiction. Among immigrants, the trauma of migration, the fear of deportation and the lack of an extensive family network are factors.
Latino adults experienced more depression and suicidal thoughts than other groups during the pandemic, according to a CDC report published in February.
Tension over basic needs
Latinos surveyed, according to the CDC, had a “higher incidence of psychosocial stress associated with not having enough food or stable housing than adults in other racial and ethnic groups, as the pandemic affects so many Spanish families and workers.
According to the report, Latino adults (40.3 percent) reported 59 percent more frequent symptoms of depression than non-Hispanic whites (25.3 percent). Nearly 37 percent of Hispanic Americans surveyed reported an increase in drug use or reported that they started using it, compared to under 16 percent for whites and blacks.
“What we see most in public health is that when economic problems worsen, when people are out of work and there is too much tension – something that has gotten worse for Latinos with the pandemic – that naturally increases the use of alcohol and drugs. ” Dr. Lisa Fortuna, head of the psychiatry department at San Francisco General Hospital, told Noticias Telemundo.
‘For those who have already had drug problems, the relapse has increased as people try to deal with stress. It caused even more problems because it caused more depression, emotional problems and even physical illnesses, ‘she said.
The stigma continues
In her experience dealing with Latino patients with depression, anxiety and addiction problems, Fortuna said that a stigma exists to seek help, and that lack of help often leads to the consumption and abuse of drugs.
“Many do not publicly admit that they suffer from depression or anxiety, for fear of being called crazy or weak, and they admit even less that they use alcohol or drugs,” she said.
Sometimes, she said, Latinos go to seek help by seeking religious institutions instead of professional help. But she warns that while studies claim that following a religion or belief may make people less likely to become depressed or think of suicide, “it is not a complete prevention of depression.”
Before the coronavirus hit, the US was already suffering from the deadliest opioid epidemic in its history. The excessive death rate among the national population has increased dramatically in recent years.
In 2019, 71,000 Americans died from substance abuse, and the country declared deaths as an overdose to a national public health emergency.
By the late 1990s, the increase in overdose deaths was linked to the abuse of prescribed analgesic opioids, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and others.
In the 2000s, cheaper and more deadly illegal drugs such as heroin and fentanyl gained ground. By 2015, heroin caused more deaths than prescription painkillers or other drugs. And in 2016, fentanyl and other similar pills claimed the most lives.
About 4 percent of the U.S. Latino population abuses opioids, and that includes people as young as 12, according to SAMHSA.
Fortuna said many doctors across the country are calling for a reform of the primary health care system so that patients undergoing physical examinations can get mental health counseling immediately. She thinks it would make a difference among those who would not voluntarily go to a mental health practitioner.
“There is a movement in the US to integrate the two things, mental health and physical health. This is actually happening in many clinics at the federal level,” she says.
Amid challenges, “I see a good future”
SAMHSA warns in its 2020 report that bilingual health professionals are in great demand due to their small number. This shortage remains a major obstacle to the provision of prevention, treatment and recovery programs for many Latinos.
According to Casa Esperanza’s Colón, it’s a challenge to keep someone off drugs. Many of those who use their services eventually fall back or die from overdoses.
“When ten customers complete the program and leave, eight of them come looking for the service again,” he said. This is at best, as many die from overdoses.
Others manage to get out of the black hole of addiction and get their lives back. Many of them even worked at Casa Esperanza, where they used to be patients. ‘Of our 11 repair experts, eight were former clients. “That they want to continue working for us makes us proud, because it makes us think we did things well,” Colón said.
Diego hopes to work as a mechanic once he completes his recovery. He wants to visit schools and advise teenagers to avoid the life he started at their age.
“I see a good future for me. Many of the counselors here have been through this program and it gives me hope that it can be done, “he said. I need to work on my recovery and deal with my addiction. This is the most important thing is my life. I know they will help me a lot in this program. They already do. ”
An earlier version of this article was originally published in Noticias Telemundo.
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