WESTFIELD-Kathi Cotugno knows from personal experience the struggles families face when a loved one has an addiction.
As a member of the Westfield Drug Task Force, her unique perspective has been invaluable to the city’s leaders and local and state legislators who serve with her.
“It had been a long struggle for me and I was trying to do everything possible,” said Cotugno, who lost her son Adam in February 2016 at the age of 28. “Mayor Sullivan and Kathleen Sitler reached out to me to be a part of the task force since they knew where I was coming from.”
Cotugno noted there are families in the city who are dealing with issues of substance abuse and at times it can be hard to find help or direction.
“I’ve lived through it and want to help make it better for others,” said Cotugno.
As the task force begins its third year next month, its mission continues to evolve.
“Our mission is to create a community of prevention, intervention and recovery to improve the quality of life in Westfield by addressing all facets of substance abuse and addiction,” said Sitler, who serves as the task force coordinator.
Kathleen Sitler, coordinator of the Westfield Drug Task Force, addresses the crowd at the Sept. 7 gathering on Park Square Green to commemorate International Overdose Awareness Day. (Submitted photo)
Sitler noted that since its inception, one of the main focuses of the task force and its subcommittee has been to address the opioid issue head on.
“We have found the biggest win in all of this is to get to people before someone is addicted,” said Sitler. “We are boots to the ground in our efforts to raise awareness of substance use and abuse in the city.”
Cotugno shared a similar sentiment.
“We need to educate our younger kids on the dangers of all forms of substance abuse, from alcohol, cigarettes and opioids to especially vaping,” said Cotugno, adding, “It’s never going to stop if we don’t educate our kids.”
One of the new initiatives that the task force is launching with the Westfield Fire Department (WFD) is to look at monthly statistics of deaths related to substance abuse as well as overdoses to determine if there are any trends that can be studied and addressed.
Sitler noted that 2018 statistics provided by the WFD will assist the task force and its subcommittee on creating a game plan for 2019. During the first six months there were six deaths reported and 40 overdoses. For the second half of the year, there were four deaths and 33 overdoses that were responded to by the fire department.
The months that saw the highest statistics included May with nine overdoses and three deaths; June with 13 overdoses and one death, and December with seven overdoses and one death. The complete breakdown follows:
January: five overdoses; no deaths.
February: three overdoses, no deaths.
March: four overdoses, one death.
April: six overdoses, one death.
May: nine overdoses, three deaths.
June, 13 overdoses, one death.
July: six overdoses, one death.
August: six overdoses, one death.
September: four overdoses; no deaths.
October: six overdoses, no deaths.
November: four overdoses, one death.
December: seven overdoses, one death.
“The statistics reflect calls that the fire department responded to and do not necessarily reflect the overall substance abuse issues in the city,” said Sitler. “Since Narcan is now readily available, many people are using it so they wouldn’t be calling 911.”
In December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an in-depth analysis of the latest available drug overdose death data and expanded upon data released in November by the National Center for Health Statistics.
The report analyzed the growing number of U.S. drug overdose deaths from 2013 to 2017, and by demographic and geographic characteristics from 2016 to 2017. More than 702,000 Americans have died from drug overdoses from 1999 to 2017 – about 10 percent of them in 2017 alone.
“The drug overdose epidemic continues to evolve, with the involvement of many types of drugs including opioids, cocaine, and psychostimulants,” said Debra Houry, M.D., M.P.H., director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, in a statement. “This underscores the urgency for more timely and localized data to inform public health and public safety action.”
Since prevention is a major focus for the task force this year, Sitler is working closely with Stefan Czaporowski, superintendent of the Westfield Public Schools, to offer a series of videos on substance use and abuse.
“We are targeting late spring to roll out the localized videos to grades 5 through 8,” said Sitler. “By launching the videos with a local effect, my hope is that kids will pay more attention to the message, internalize the information, and make better decisions.”
Task force members have a “busy” year ahead, and Sitler noted she is always available to work with community leaders who are concerned about the effects of substance abuse in the city. Sitler can be reached via email at [email protected].
“We not only visit schools but we also conduct health fairs and have sponsored conferences for community members and church leaders,” said Sitler. “Church leaders, in particular, are seeing parishioners struggling with a family member who is addicted and are seeking information.”
While there are multiple avenues to cover by task force members, both Sitler and Cotugno are especially focused on young people and vaping.
“One of the most recent challenges is vaping which was not on our radar,” said Sitler. “Vaping has become a big issue in the community and we’re looking to address the high numbers.”
Sitler added that teens “believe” vaping is a healthy alternative to tobacco use.
Cotugno concurred.
“Kids think vaping is safer and healthier but it is not,” said Cotugno. “I hope we can see a change in kids through education so that by the time they enter high school they will say ‘No, I don’t want to be a part of that.'”
For an extensive list of resources and detailed information on opioids provided by the task force, visit cityofwestfield.org.
“We are in the trenches and it can be overwhelming at times but we are committed to a healthier community for everyone,” said Sitler.
