Blue Cares Blooms in Berks County

Blooms in Berks County

By Brian Kammerer, CRS

It was a bitterly cold, dreary, and overcast morning. Christmas trees, which were once the proud and majestic symbol of the holiday season, were now abandoned in the gutter, clinging to scraps of tinsel and garland. A few days earlier, a Birdsboro police officer had saved a young man’s life by administering Narcan and reversing the effects of an opioid overdose. I left my home and drove to meet Chief Todd Trupp of the Birdsboro Police Department to conduct the very first Blue CARES visit.

Blue CARES (Cops Assisting Recovery Engagement and Support) is a collaborative “Community Policing Program” between Berks County law enforcement officers and the Council on Chemical Abuse. When a Berks County police officer uses Narcan (naloxone) to reverse an opioid overdose, the officer can then follow through with a referral to Blue CARES. The uniformed officer and a Certified Recovery Specialist (CRS) conduct a joint visit to the overdose survivor’s home in the hope of connecting with the individual and offering access to treatment services. There is also an opportunity to engage with family members and provide them with information, support, and access to resources.

During the first three years of this program, I have participated in over 400 Blue CARES visits. People often ask if the program is successful and my answer is always a resounding YES. There are many ways to measure success. Each visit has been unique in its own way; some have been heartbreaking while some have been truly inspirational. I will share some of my experiences and invite you to determine where the successes can be found. The overdose survivor was an eighteen-year-old white male student who overdosed at a local college. Chief Stinsky and

I went on a Blue CARES visit to the overdose survivor’s home. When we knocked on the door, no one answered although we thought someone might be home. Therefore, we left behind a package of information and a letter describing who we were and why we came to visit. An hour later Chief Stinsky received a phone call from the young man, who thanked him for caring enough to come out and check on him. This was a kid who, involved in a subculture of drug use, probably never would have chosen to call and speak with a cop before, but he wanted to let the Chief know that he was getting help from a local therapist. I believe that breaking down barriers between people with a substance use disorder and the local police who protect and serve them is a huge success.

A middle-aged woman, fearing the worst, met us at the side door of her home. She told Corporal Coe that her daughter had already gone into treatment following the incident a few days earlier. Through teary eyes, she described the hopelessness and powerlessness that only a mother of a person struggling with substance use disorder can understand. Mom said that she could see it coming, but could not do anything to stop it, and she did not know how to help her daughter. We provided her with information about family support groups and addiction education groups. She seemed relieved to hear us validate her suspicion that she needed recovery too. I believe that police officers empathetically supporting the family members of people with substance use disorder is a key component of the Blue CARES movement. And I believe that a mother learning that she did not cause her daughter’s disease, nor can she control it or cure it, but that she too deserves to recover, is another success.

Officer Homm of Exeter Police Department saved a 22-year-old man’s life from an opioid overdose on a Saturday night. On Tuesday morning, Officer Homm and I knocked on the young man’s door. A frail and proud woman invited us in without hesitation, and called for her grandson to come downstairs. When I explained to the family that this officer had responded to the call on Saturday, a wave of emotion came over the room. Gratitude and hugs flowed as freely as the coffee. The young man was enthusiastic to share his renewed commitment to recovery following his overdose. As we were leaving, in the parking lot, Officer Homm thanked me for the Blue CARES program. He told me that he normally only sees people with substance use disorders at their worst, in moments of crisis, and that law enforcement does not get to see or hear about the successes of recovery often enough. It is easy to become calloused, and it is too easy to think of people with substance used disorders only as criminals, and to forget that they are sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, and grandchildren fighting for their lives. I believe that keeping hope alive for our blue guardians that recovery happens is another far reaching success.

Chief Kevin Rudy of the Penn State Police Department agreed to visit an overdose survivor with me. As we drove through the rolling hills of Berks County, the trees were waking up from their long slumber, and birds were singing a joyful song of warmer days to come. We met a nurse and her two teenage daughters at their home, where the other member of their family had overdosed two days earlier. Luckily, a police officer on the scene was equipped with naloxone that enabled him to save the man’s life. Her husband was already getting help at a local treatment center, but we heard the story of how he had been found by their daughters in the basement in the early stages of an overdose. He had begged them not to call for help, fearing judgement from neighbors or criminal charges from law enforcement that might

Sgt. William Pletcher - American Red Cross Berks County Law Enforcement Hero 2022 Sgt. Pletcher participated in 147 Blue CARES visits between May 16 2021 and May 16 2022. Photo courtesy of WFMZ TV 69 News

Enjoy Live Music! Saturday, September 24, 2022 1:00-4:00 PM

Soberstock is an annual free festival held at the beautiful Easy Does It Inc. campus at 1300 Hilltop Road in Leesport, PA

Join us for the day to celebrate recovery in our community and to spread awareness of available services for both individuals and families seeking treatment and/or recovery. MORE BANDS TO BE ANNOUNCED!

Check our Soberstock page for more information and updates! easydoesitinc.org/events/soberstock

result in more problems for his family. Shame and humiliation is a life-threatening barrier to people who need help, and an unfortunate side effect caused by the stigma of substance use disorder. I could almost see the weight lifting off her shoulders as she told her story, perhaps for the first time. I shared a little of my own story, assuring her that recovery is possible and how we understand that addiction can affect any family. We were also able to alleviate some of the legal concerns and reassure her that the police were a friend in the community with her family’s best interest in mind. I believe that a police officer taking some time to listen to a story that someone has been too embarrassed to share may make all the difference.

Historically, people with substance use disorders have been viewed as criminals with a lack of self-control. These views contribute to stigma that can push people to the outskirts of society and cause their family to lose touch with the community. As a result, these individuals and families can experience profound isolation and depression. Berks County law enforcement understands that treating people with a substance use disorder and their families with dignity and respect reduces that stigma. It has been incredible to witness the kindness and compassion displayed by law enforcement during Blue CARES visits. Each visit offers the potential to save someone’s life or to at least change someone’s perspective, and if that is not success, then I don’t know what is.