Menominee Tribe Has 70% Decline in Overdose Deaths, Hospitalizations
More education, increased supply of fentanyl test strips and Narcan credited.
The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin has seen a sharp decline in overdoses resulting in hospitalization or death this year, after two years of record-high overdose deaths on the reservation.
So far this year, the tribe has seen a nearly 70 percent decrease in overdoses leading to hospitalizations or deaths, the Menominee announced in a recent news release.
“This fight may never be over, but we will continue to work together to find solutions that lead to healthy outcomes for our communities, now and in the future,” Warrington stated.
In 2022, the Menominee declared a state of emergency related to the impacts of drug use and addiction. That year, Menominee County, home to the tribe’s reservation, had the highest overdose death rate in all of Wisconsin.
In May, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that overdose deaths declined nationally by 3 percent from 2022 to 2023.
But the Menominee actually saw an increase from 2022 to 2023. The tribe recorded 16 overdose deaths in 2022 and 19 in 2023, according to Addie Caldwell, Director of Wellness Programs at Maehnowesekiyah Wellness Center and co-chair of the Drug Addiction Intervention Team.
“Last year, by far, was our greatest year of loss,” Caldwell said.
The tribe has only seen three overdose deaths so far this year, marking a significant change, Caldwell said.
She said the tribe declaring a state of emergency in 2022 led to a community meeting that generated ideas about how to address the opioid crisis. That meeting then led to increased cooperation between local organizations through the Drug Addiction Intervention Team to expand outreach and find gaps in existing addiction resources.
“That team was really formed to look at the problem as a whole, and from there, we all collaboratively made these goals,” Caldwell said. “I feel like that was a huge part of making or decreasing those overdose levels.”
“At the end of the day, these are our brothers, these are our sisters, these are our moms, our dads. It’s our community,” she said. “The easiest thing about addiction is that we can point fingers, and we can blame people. But it is a community issue.”
Caldwell said the tribe also used data to find “hot spots,” places in the community with a disproportionate number of overdoses, and “hot times” when overdoses were happening more frequently. Using that data, she says the community was able to get recovery coaches on the ground to help make people aware that resources were available.
She said the community also worked on harm reduction, which included increasing the supply of fentanyl test strips and Narcan. Fentanyl test strips are small strips of paper that can detect the presence of fentanyl in different kinds of drugs, and Narcan is a medication that rapidly reverses the effects of an overdose.
“Narcan is critical,” Caldwell said. “I know there’s a lot of opinions out there thinking that we’re giving this stuff out, and it just is making people overdose or use more. But in all reality, it’s saving a life. It’s nothing more than that.”
Caldwell said she believes making Narcan available to “anyone and everyone” is likely the “No. 1 thing that changed within this community to help drop our overdose rates.”
There’s also been a mindset shift in the community, she said, especially among the tribe’s young people, where individuals are more willing to ask for help and acknowledge a desire to change.
“We actually are trying to increase our interventions or almost prevention-type efforts within our schools,” Caldwell said. “We’re trying to get in there earlier and earlier, or provide opportunities to our parents to just have some discussion.”
While the Menominee are encouraged by the sharp decrease in overdose deaths and hospitalizations, Caldwell says there’s still work to do. She views it as an investment that will pay off for future generations.
“This is work that is going to continue to need attention,” she said. “Just like someone that’s in recovery, that’s something they have to work on for the rest of their lives, we’re going to keep fighting against drugs and alcohol and all the things that come with addiction.”
Menominee tribe sees sharp decrease in overdose deaths, hospitalizations was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
More about the Opioid Crisis
- Menominee Tribe Has 70% Decline in Overdose Deaths, Hospitalizations - Joe Schulz - Nov 27th, 2024
- Serenity Inns: A Proven Lifesaving Facility Denied Critical State Funding - Serenity Inns - Nov 19th, 2024
- Milwaukee County Outreach Team Going Door-to-Door Handing Out Narcan in High Overdose Areas - Evan Casey - Nov 14th, 2024
- DHS Launches New System to Help Communities Track and Respond to Overdose - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Nov 14th, 2024
- Attorney General Kaul and Bipartisan Coalition of 30 States Announce Settlement with Kroger Over Opioid Crisis - Wisconsin Department of Justice - Nov 6th, 2024
- Baldwin Calls on Biden Administration to Investigate China’s Role in Fueling the Fentanyl Crisis - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Oct 23rd, 2024
- Baldwin Brings Home $750,000 for Northeastern Wisconsin to Combat Fentanyl and Opioid Epidemic - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Sep 27th, 2024
- AG Kaul Meets with EMS Leave Behind Program Recipients - Wisconsin Department of Justice - Sep 17th, 2024
- MKE County: Crowley Signs Opioid Program Funding - Graham Kilmer - Sep 10th, 2024
- Serenity Inns Opens New Addiction Treatment Center in Milwaukee - Serenity Inns - Aug 14th, 2024
Read more about Opioid Crisis here
This is am amazing decrease. So glad to see harm reduction, education, and narcan working!