The feelings of sadness, anger, frustration and hopelessness that signify the opioid crisis were on full display during the Sept. 14 Lorain County commissioners meeting.
Discussions ranged from the number of Lorain County residents who died from a drug overdose in 2021, to the role grandparents play in caring for their grandchildren when their parents are sidelined by addiction problems.
A grandmother now raising her grandchildren ages 3 and 5, after her daughter died from a drug overdose, put a human face on the crisis as she described her situation to commissioners.
The commissioners issued a proclamation recognizing First Responders Week- Bringing Help, Bringing Hope (Sept. 18-24) to Michael Doud, executive director of the Mental Health Addiction and Rehabilitation Services (MHARS) Board of Lorain County.
In addition, the commissioners issued a second proclamation recognizing September as Grandparent-Kinship month to Kristin Berki-Fox, executive director of Lorain County Children Services, and the Kinship Care program, that allows children whose parents may be battling addiction with their grandparents instead of being forced into foster care.
The MHARS board is on the front line in helping those battling addiction and sees first-hand the devastating effects of the opioid crisis, Doud said.
He noted that 143 people in Lorain County died from a drug overdose in 2021, while 463 survived an overdose.
In part, the MHARS board helps addicts get the treatment they need to beat addiction while directing family members and loved ones of addicts to services that can help them deal with the effects of the disease.
Kinship Care
Kinship Care allows family members to take custody of children of parents who might be going through addiction and can’t be there for their youngsters.
The service allows for the children to retain a sense of normalcy and stay part of a family unit instead of being shuffled off into a foster care program.
Karen Brady, 65, of Avon, is a Kinship Care member raising her two grandchildren after her daughter died of an overdose at the age of 24 in August 2021.
Brady provided an emotional and moving testimony to the commissioners when she asked to speak during proclamation ceremony.
She and several other Kinship Care members had lined up behind Berki-Fox, who read a brief statement about the program as part of the ceremony.
When Commissioner Matt Lundy asked if anyone else wanted to speak, Brady asked to come forward.
Fighting through tears, she told the commissioners that when her 24-year-old daughter Brianna ingested fentanyl, she became one of the 143 mentioned by Doud whole died from an overdose in 2021.
Brady said she loved her grandchildren, but raising them is not a task to take lightly.
“It’s the hardest thing in the world, and I’m so grateful I have these people to help us through it,” she said motioning to a group of women standing behind her.
Brady then pivoted and said she’d like to see the government create laws mandating treatment for people battling drug addiction.
“She wasn’t forced,” Brady said of her daughter. “She wasn’t asked.”
And the treatment, in Brady’s estimation, was not enough.
“They always talk about they have to hit rock bottom,” she said. “Well, my rock bottom was she took something with fentanyl and she died. Rock bottom don’t work.”
Brady said she is fully aware the road ahead for her will not be easy.
She said her moment of truth came recently when she went to an event where her five-year-old granddaughter was cheerleading and an announcer told the crowd the children are part of the Class of 2035.
“Do you know how old I’ll be?” Brady asked. “I’ll be 80.
“I wished to God they could have made my daughter go to treatment right away, made her stay six months, made her get sober and help her get off of that.”
Brady also called for more treatment centers, and more sober living homes, and said the pharmaceutical companies should be made to pay their fair share of the costs.
“Please, please find out how we can do that,” she said.
Lundy expressed his condolence for Brady’s loss.
Of the three commissioners, it’s Lundy who has made frequent mentions of the drug problem in the county during commissioner meetings.
He’s noted on several occasions how the Lorain County Jail serves as a detox center, as so many of those who find themselves booked on crimes are in the throes of battling addiction.
“This is what we try to educate people on all the time, how good people get addicted,” Lundy said. “That’s why it’s a disease.
“Their brains light up when they are exposed to certain drugs and they get addicted.”
Lundy’s comments then veered to the subject of mandatory treatment.
“That’s the question that’s always in the community,” he said. “Can you force someone into treatment?”
Lundy began to point out the majority of addiction experts believe someone has to want to seek help and can’t be forced into it, Brady interjected.
“I’m living it,” she said. “I want you to know that rock bottom crap is for the birds. It doesn’t work.”
Brady said her misery continues to unfold.
She told the commissioner that she has an older daughter who also is battling addiction, and now is in jail.
“I know she’s safe,” Brady said.
