Indy’s Black community combats opioid crisis (Part 2)

To read part one of this story, visit our website, indianapolisrecorder.com.

Systemic mistreatment leads to mistrust

Seeking to combat high overdose death rates in Indy’s Black communities, the SOUL team conducted 50 interviews with residents.

Across the interviews, a common thread emerged — Black residents were fearful of calling 911 or carrying naloxone due to deep-rooted mistrust in law enforcement.

Charlotte Crabtree, Overdose Lifeline’s (ODL) Diversity and Outreach Program Manager, who has lived experience with addiction and recovery, conducted the interviews.

“Several of the people responded … ‘If we call 911, we’re calling a gun for assistance,’” Crabtree said.

Analyzing the data was Naomi Satterfield, a Mental Health First Aid instructor and I.U. doctoral student, who detailed why Black residents were more reluctant to call 911 or carry naloxone.

“While those behaviors are really beneficial, they’re also steeped in… structural racism,” Satterfield said. “If we look at using naloxone, there’s a long history of the medical institution on the United States taking advantage of Black communities.”

Satterfield referenced the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, a study conducted under false pretenses that resulted in the death and health complications of hundreds of Black men.[KB1] 

Interviewees also described occurrences where health officials came into Black communities with the promise of helping but extracted stories and information instead of affecting change.

Satterfield said there is fear and mistrust and police among Black communities.

“So (they) have that fear of being caught with naloxone and assumed that there’s more,” Satterfield said. “Also, the fear of an escalation leading to brutality or death.”

While 52% of interviewees described positive or helpful experiences with first responders (mainly EMS, but also IMPD officers), 90% reflected negative perceptions of police officers.

69% described negative or unhelpful experiences with first responders (all interactions included police officers, but some included EMS).

“There are very important projects that Indianapolis police are doing to try and repair these relationships and build trust in the community … but this history is centuries long, policing started from slave patrols,” Satterfield said.

Mending the gap between system and community

During the first “Community in Crisis” event at Martin University hosted by ODL, a panel of SOUL coalition members spoke to community members.

The reparation of trust between the Black community, law enforcement and first responders was identified as a key factor in slowing overdose death rates.

Kendale Adams, Deputy Chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s (IMPD) Criminal Investigations Division, emphasized that police officers will not take people to jail for trying to get help during an overdose.

“I can guarantee you our first response, our first obligation, is to preserve life,” Adams said. “Naloxone is not against the law; anybody can have it.”

Policy change could be the solution

Alongside trust reparation, the coalition agrees that policy change is vital, and legislative change could help slow overdose rates among Black residents.

Proposed changes included legislation that would “not make (fentanyl test strips) an illegal concept when you’re talking about having drug paraphernalia,” according to State Rep. Robin Shackleford.

This would allow residents to use test strips to detect the presence of the opioid fentanyl in drugs.

The legislation made it through the Indiana House committee but not the Senate.

Shackelford said that showcases how the public’s involvement is needed to make policy change happen. Testifying at committee meetings, calling, emailing or mailing testimonies could go a long way in helping pass legistlation.

“It could be as simple as ‘please support the fentanyl strip legislation,’” Shackleford said. “Other ways that you can help is by putting information on social media.”

Shackleford noted the importance of advocacy in raising awareness about laws that encourage everyday people to help those suffering from dangers like overdoses.

One of these laws is Aaron’s Law.

The Indiana law is named after Aaron Sims. Sims, the son of Justin Philips, died at 20 from an overdose, which inspired Philips to found ODL and partner with legislators to create the law.

Aaron’s Law allows laypeople to carry naloxone without a prescription, and amendments to the law have made the nasal-spray treatment accessible in pharmacy chains.

Another law highlighted by ODL and SOUL is the Good Samaritan law. While all 50 states have a Good Samaritan law, details of Good Samaritan laws can differ depending on state jurisdiction.

Indiana’s Good Samaritan law gives laypeople who assist someone overdosing protection from prosecution and arrest.

Crabtree said Indiana residents need to raise awareness of these laws to combat misinformation, stigma and overdose rates.

Naloxone box locations and upcoming events 

As Crabtree and the SOUL coalition continue their work, they are hosting events and sharing resources.

Currently, Crabtree says ODL has distributed over 263,000 doses of naloxone throughout Indiana and has seen a decline in the number of overdoses in the targeted zip code areas.

Looking to continue that decline, ODL will host a series of events including overdose reversal making kits, a block party and more. More information can be found at overdoselifeline.org/events.

ODL has also placed acrylic boxes with naloxone at prominent locations around Indiana. Visit overdoselifeline.org/naloxone-indiana-distribution for a map.

For additional resources, visit in.gov/health/overdose-prevention/naloxone/.

ODL will host the second “Community and Crisis” meeting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on August 17 at Martin University at 2186 N. Sherman Dr.

“We’re trying to reach out and make sure more people are aware … and that our voices be heard,” Crabtree said.

Contact Indianapolis Recorder intern, Kayla Barlow, at kaylab@indyrecorder.com.