Volunteers of America Ohio & Indiana

Below we will highlight some of the vital services offered through Volunteers of America.

Fresh Start Recovery Center is a family-focused residential substance use treatment program for mothers and their children. This program uniquely allows mothers and children to remain together during treatment for misuse of opioids, heroin, and/or other substances. Treatment centers are available in Indianapolis, Columbus, Evansville and Winchester and accept referrals from anywhere within Indiana. 

Turning Point Recovery Center is a residential substance use treatment program for men and women involved in the Criminal Justice System. Through this program, individuals are offered the opportunity to address their substance use through treatment rather than face incarceration.

Family Preservation Services offers Hoosiers in-home services for family preservation through a provider that will help the family meet all its needs. This program allows children to have safe environment at home. These services can begin while a mother is in treatment at a Fresh Start Recovery Center.

Residential Re-entry is a clinical treatment program that helps individuals being release from incarceration, reintegrate into the community, and overcome barriers to success. Some of the program services include case management, skill development, job-readiness training and counseling.

A Gender Perspective of Addictive Disorders

Although substance use disorder (SUD) is more prevalent in men, women present a more vulnerable clinical profile. Chronic diseases, such as SUD, are influenced by genetics, environmental and social factors. Data from the World Drug Report 2020 shows that women with SUD tend to be more vulnerable, experience higher psychiatric comorbidity, be exposed to partner violence at higher rates, and risk developing sexual and reproductive health issues. Data also show that although one in three individuals with SUD are women, only one in five individuals seeking SUD treatment are women.

With this knowledge, researchers aimed to understand how sex and gender may influence neurobiological, epidemiological and clinical manifestations for women with SUD.

Epidemiological data shows that the gender gap seen in SUD has been slowly narrowing. Cocaine use in some countries has been more prevalent among women. Heroin use is increasing faster for women in the U.S than for men. For some substances, such as sedatives and weight loss pills, use is more prevalent in women. Lastly, the decrease of nonmedical prescription opioid use is decreasing slower for women than men.

Women show a more severe profile than men for clinical features even when they have a shorter history of SUD and use a smaller amount of the substance. Women, compared to men, had a higher escalation of severity, and functionality decline occurred faster. Women also show higher susceptibility to cravings, relapse and show higher physiological withdrawal symptoms.

These findings highlight the importance of professionals working in the SUD prevention and treatment community to consider these factors when treating and creating interventional strategies for women and understand how sex can influence SUD clinical profiles.

The Fentanyl Epidemic

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid prescribed for pain relief. This synthetic opioid, which is 10 times more potent than morphine, is one reason for the increase of drug overdoses seen in the United States. The increase in fentanyl use is attributed to its low production cost, easy digestion, and highly addictive and potent characteristics.

Although fentanyl is utilized in the healthcare industry, most of the illicit fentanyl comes from China. Because China does not have strict regulations, their laboratories can manufacture fentanyl in powder form. It is manufactured as a powder because of its versatility; this fentanyl powder can be used in eye droppers, nasal sprays or blotter paper. This powder is then turned into pills and sold all over the world.

In 2020, data showed in increase in synthetic opioids use which includes fentanyl.

Some signs of a fentanyl overdose may include drowsiness, difficulty walking, shallow breathing, gurgling noises, small pupils or unconsciousness. Fentanyl overdoses can be treated with Narcan, like other opioids. For more information on fentanyl, click here.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Introducing: Opioid and Alcohol Misuse and Risk of Suicide: A Literature Review

1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST, Dec. 8

Suicide has been the second leading cause of death for individuals 10-34 years of age every year since 2019. Suicide and substance use can share risk factors, such as the use of similar substances, particularly depressants such as opioids or alcohol. The Central East Prevention Technology Transfer Center Network conducted a literature review of opioid and alcohol misuse and risk of suicide. This free webinar will discuss and summarize its findings. There will also be a discussion of evidence-based prevention strategies that address substance and suicide risk.

To register for this event, click here.

Pitching Prevention: Effective Messaging to Promote Prevention

2 p.m. – 4 p.m. EST, Dec. 9

This training is targeted toward prevention professionals in the Health & Human Services Region 5, which includes Indiana. This free webinar will focus on using persuasive communication, tailoring your message to your audience, and using communication to overcome barriers to full community engagement. The training will also provide an opportunity for participants to apply these skills through small group work. Attendees will be able to identify three key elements of effective prevention messages and will have the opportunity to develop a prevention pitch.

To register for this event, click here.