Democratic policy committee convenes in Uniontown to discuss county drug epidemic
Roberto M. Esquivel|Herald-Standard
State Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, looks at state Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Twp., during a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing on drug education funding held at Uniontown City Hall, Thursday morning.
Roberto M. Esquivel|Herald-Stand
Elizabeth Paulo, a recovering addict, addresses the House Democratic Policy Committee during a hearing on drug education funding Thursday morning at City Hall in Uniontown. Paulo told the committee that she stopped using drugs when she was offered treatment while incarcerated and 6 1/2 months pregnant.
Roberto M. Esquivel|Herald-Standard
Mark Garletts reacts emotionally after addressing the House Democratic Policy Committee Thursday morning. Garletts recounted the hardships he and his wife, Joanne, go through in caring for their 26-year-old son Brandon who developed an Anoxic brain injury resulting from a drug overdose of Oxycotin and Xanax.
Of the 1,000 babies born in Uniontown Hospital recently, 300 suffered withdrawal because their mother was using drugs at the time of their birth.
In a 2013 survey of Fayette County students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12, 49 percent of the respondents reported that they had obtained alcohol or drugs from friends and 8 percent said that they had been offered drugs in school.
The staggering numbers presented by those that see the newborns and young people struggle were discussed on Thursday with members of the state House Democratic Policy Committee (HDPC).
The committee, chaired by Lancaster Rep. Mike Sturla, conducts public hearings across the state to gather testimony and information that could later serve as the foundation for policy initiatives by the House Democratic Caucus.
State Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Township, a committee member, requested the HDPC meet in Fayette County to learn first hand of some of the devastating statistics and hear the stories of those who have felt the pain and tragedy of addiction.
“They found the testimony difficult to listen to,” he said following the hearing. “But, it is a subject we must talk about and do something about.
“We must start addressing this epidemic that is adversely impacting Fayette County, our state and the country.”
The legislative hearing follows a March forum also called by Mahoney to discuss drug and alcohol addiction. State Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Gary Tennis took part in the forum.
Jana Kyle, Fayette County Drug and Alcohol Commission executive director, told the panel that substance abuse is far reaching.
“It cuts across racial, socio-economic, geographic and generational lines,” she said. “It is draining many of our resources within the health care and criminal justice systems.
“Drug deaths now outnumber traffic-related deaths in the U.S.”
Kyle said the statistics for substance abuse by young people is “alarming.”
“That is why prevention is very important,” she added. “We need to focus on education and collaboration. Prevention is not just going into the schools to educate the students, it’s educating our communities.
“It’s educating our policymakers; our businesses.”
Kyle said the medical field focuses on practices that will deter heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure and the message is made loud and clear to the public.
A similar message about the prevention of substance abuse must also be shared with young people, parents and communities.
“We can take steps to reduce that epidemic that we are having,” she said.
Erica Usher, commission prevention supervisor, said that long-term recovery is based on whether the root of the abuse can be determined and addressed.
“We need to get out and learn what caused (the substance abuse) in the first place,” she said. “Not only is prevention necessary, it must be purposeful.”
Mahoney said that the local stories concerning substance addiction and how it impacts the communities are heart-wrenching.
“Today we only heard of few, but there are so many,” he said. “That’s why it is so important that we take this issue seriously.”
Elizabeth Paulo told that panel that it was her own insecurities that led her into the world of drugs.
“I had a wonderful childhood and I can’t blame my problem on where I came from,” she said. “I was raised right.”
She began experimenting with drugs while in high school and took advantage of the availability of prescription drugs found in the medicine cabinets in the homes of friends.
The more she became involved in the drug world, the more she found herself manipulating her parents to give her money to attend high school functions that she avoided and instead used the money to purchase drugs.
“I wanted to fit in, but never did,” she said.
After moving to the more addictive drugs, Paulo said she found herself pregnant and eventually incarcerated.
“That was my bottom,” she said, adding that she has been drug-free for three years and is raising her son with her mother’s help. “Thank god for my mom.”
Mark and Joanne Garletts could barely hold back their tears as they recalled the tragedy that struck their family several years ago.
Their son Brandon, now 26, “had it all,” said his parents, until one night when an overdose left his near lifeless body on the floor of a friend’s home.
The nearly dozen minutes without oxygen he experienced following the overdose has left him wheelchair bound and totally dependent on family members.
“Parents, kids, everybody needs to be educated,” said Mark Garletts.
Joanne Garletts said her son was well aware of the effect of drugs, not only on the individual, but those around them.
“It never stopped him,” she said. “We taught him that drugs are bad.
“We thought we did it all.”
Tommy Darrell had a promising baseball career, but it fell apart as he became more and more entrenched in the drug world.
“At the age of 25 my professional baseball career ended,” he said. “It was replaced with heroin and cocaine.
“My addiction took me places I didn’t want to go and it made me stay much longer than I wanted to.”
Before he found hope and support at the Genesis House in Uniontown, Darrell said that he spent time in rehabilitation, the county lockup and the state prison, but none offered the help he needed to get well.
Getting clean is not as hard as staying clean, he added.
“By God’s grace I’m here today to share my testimony,” he said, adding that he has been drug free for eight months.
Darrell was among several people undergoing treatment, training and rehabilitation at Genesis House, said Rev. Terry Sanders, executive director.
Sanders said there is a need for preventive education about drug use, but also a need for financial help for those offering the services to the men and women that want to lead a clean and sober life.
“We don’t have time to play around, our young people are dying,” he said.
Also taking part in the panel discussion were Democratic state Representatives Pam Snyder, Chris Sainato, Mark Longietti, Paul Costa, Frank Burns, Nick Kotik and Harry Readshaw. Also, Lea Walls, Uniontown Hospital Birthing Center director, and Monica Lang, president of We Do Recover Foundation.