Monday, September 16, 2024
By Robert Cloud
For Justine Leavitt, the Overdose Awareness Walk on Saturday, Aug. 31, in Waupaca, represents her own personal journey and mission to help others.
She is a recovering drug addict who spent time in jail after being convicted of possession of narcotics, maintaining a drug trafficking place and child neglect.
Leavitt spent 144 days in jail on a cash bond while her case was pending.
“I went into jail weighing 95 pounds,” Leavitt said, noting that she weighed 140 pounds when she left jail.
On Jan. 10, 2022, Waupaca County Judge Troy Nielsen placed her on five years of probation and ordered her into the drug court treatment program.
Part of Leavitt’s treatment involved the Project WisHope Community Center in downtown Waupaca where she was both a client and a volunteer.
She participated in a 12-step program for drug addicts, went to meetings and one-on-one counseling sessions several times a week in the beginning.
Since graduating from the drug court program in July 2023, Leavitt has become a sponsor, certified peer coach and a life coach for others coming to Project WisHope for help.
“We want to bring awareness that overdoses are a real thing,” Leavitt said, regarding the walk. “People are dying.”
Registration for the Overdose Awareness Walk will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday at Project WisHope, 200 N. Main St.
Participants will walk south on Main Street to South Park, over to School Street, then to the rec center, north on State Street to the Waupaca Foundry Plant 1, then on Main Street bak to Project WisHope. the total walk is 2.5 miles.
There will be a balloon lift off for lost loved ones and a memory wall. Food will be served and commemorative T-shirts sold for $25.
The event will also feature education and free distribution of Naloxone.
For more information on the walk or Project WisHope, call Justine at 715-408-4742 or Rachel at 715-802-3831.
The Project WisHope Community Center offers opportunities to develop positive social networks and receive non-clinical, recovery support services, including peer recovery coaching services, life skills training and job placement,
The center’s hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Jed Wohlt, the public health officer for Waupaca County, presented information on opioid-related deaths at both the state and county levels at an Aug. 8 meeting of the Aging and ADRC Committee.
In 2022, Wohlt noted 1,464 Wisconsin residents died from opioids.
Of those deaths, 1,340 were from synthetic opioids, 303 were from prescription opioids and 127 were from heroin.
According to Wohlt, there were 842 opioid-related deaths among Wisconsinites between the ages 18 and 44 in 2022. Among those ages 45-64 there were 533 opioid-related deaths, 64 deaths among those age 65 and older and 16 deaths among those age 17 and younger.
The number of Wisconsinites over the age of 65 killed by opioids rose from 27 in 2018 to 64 ion 2022.
In Waupaca County, there were a total of 17 overdose deaths in Waupaca County from 2021-23.
Between 2019-23, there were 24 total inpatient visits related to opioids in Waupaca County.
During the same five-year period, there were 73 total opioid-related visits to a Waupaca County hospital emergency room.
Wohlt noted a number of ways citizens can help address concernes regarding drug addiction and unintentional overdoses.
He recommended participating in and supporting local coalitions, such as the Waupaca Area Recovery Coalition that is building a grassroots community approach to overcoming substance abuse.
Partners in the local coalition include CORE Behavioral Health Services in Manitowoc, ThedaCare Behavioral Health, Waupaca Police Department, Mission of Hope in New London, Impact Wisconsin which has resiliency houses in Waupaca County and Project WisHope Community Center.
Wohlt urged citizens to support recovery organizations, and share information on prevention, treatment and other resources with friends, family and neighbors.
Another important thing that families can do is manage their medications. Wohlt suggested storing prescriptions in locked spaces and discarding unused prescriptions at drug drop boxes, such as the one at the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office,
