![]() “But the heroin we are getting is not coming on cargo containers,” he said. Page added that some people surmise that the drug problem is worse in Wilmington because it’s a port city. “Because of the shame and guilt that they have because they are returning to use, they use more to try to numb themselves,” he said. “People that have some sort of recovery in their story and then return to use, they are 13 percent more likely to suffer an overdose because their tolerance has gone down,” Page said. These rates are similar to people afflicted with other chronic diseases such as asthma or type 1 diabetes. That being said, an area with a large addiction recovery community is also going to experience a good amount of relapse and return to use.Īddiction relapse rates are between 40 and 60 percent, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. I know it has to hurt a little bit for the people there doing great work.” “It’s unfortunate that nationally Wilmington is characterized by the problems it’s facing,” he said. ![]() McDonald said it’s vitally important for people recovering from addiction to have a strong community of support, which is why so many people go to these places. Donald McDonald from Recovery Communities of North Carolina said getting into recovery, “lead me to autonomy, community and a deep sense of purpose.” Photo credit: Rose Hoban Wilmington and Asheville have the two largest and strongest recovery communities in the state, according to Donald McDonald, director of advocacy and education for Recovery Communities of North Carolina. Mowat said that hopefully in the future, Castlight will conduct a similar study and the numbers will show improvements as elected officials, medical professionals and community groups work to fight opioid addiction. The Castlight study illustrates that point. “But it’s an issue that affects everybody.” ![]() “An assumption is made that people gainfully employed are not impacted by this problem,” said Kristin Torres Mowat, senior vice president at Castlight Health. Those on Medicaid and Medicare, which makes up close to 38 percent of North Carolinians, were not included in the study. One aspect of the Castlight study to keep in mind is that it only surveyed employed populations through commercial workforce claims. “I’m a little defensive about that ranking,” he said, emphasizing how many addiction recovery efforts are happening in Wilmington. Ray’s heart and work are in Wilmington, and he says the study by Castlight Health - which ranks Wilmington as the top city for opioid abuse - gives his “town a black eye.” He’s been in recovery for 21 years from cocaine addiction and said that people often come to the water for healing and a new start. Wayne Ray, director of Launch Pad, a full-service recovery community near Wrightsville Beach, hitchhiked from Goldsboro to Wilmington a couple decades ago to be near the water. The city is also home to Wilmington Treatment Center, which for a long time was considered one of the premier addiction treatment centers in the country. It’s also important to note that according to NC Department of Health and Human Services, Wilmington does not have the highest number of opioid deaths in the state. It’s filled with halfway houses and substance abuse outpatient programs. Page and others in the area say that there are close to 300 twelve-step meetings a week in the city. Wilmington is a mecca for recovery,” he argued. “I feel that it has a lot to do with the polar opposite, which is recovery. NC Harm Reduction Coalition’s Michael Page. “There are a lot of different theories about why it’s so problematic in Wilmington specifically,” said Michael Page, a North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition worker who helps operate a mobile needle exchange in Wilmington. ranks number one in the nation for opioid abuse.īut for all its problems, the city’s residents and those in the addiction recovery community say that reputation is a bit unfair. could learn from them.īy some measures, Wilmington, N.C.
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