Page 4 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, MAy 22, 2020 City celebrates fifth Haitian Flag Day Opioid crisis exacerbated by COVID-19 By Christopher Roberson A Kam Sylvestre helps raise the Haitian flag at the city’s 5th Haitian Flag Day. City Council President Rosa DiFlorio during the city’s fifth Haitian Flag Day. (Photos Courtesy of the City of Everett) lthough social distancing has proven beneficial in the fight against COVID-19, it has had the opposite effect in the battle against opioid use. “The isolation is really hard,” said Tori Cyrus, coordinator of the city’s Roadmap to Recovery Program. She said that since the beginning of the year there have been 41 overdoses in Everett, five of which were fatal. Cyrus also said that historically there has been an uptick in substance abuse during the late spring and early summer. Officials from the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) also described the effects that prolonged social distancing can have on someone suffering from addiction. “Social isolation is a component in relapse among drug users under normal circumstances,” they said in a written statement. “With fewer healthy Mayor Carlo DeMaria and Reverend Myrlande of the Everett Haitian Community Center. outlets and the inability to socialize with friends or family, people with drug problems find themselves fighting an uphill battle.” However, Cyrus said the city received a $2,500 grant from the RIZE Massachusetts foundation to create care packages for those struggling with substance abuse. She said each package includes one unit of Narcan as well information about virtual meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and 12-step recovery programs. According to the USFA, the drug supply chain between China, Mexico and the United States has been severely disrupted by COVID-19. As a result, there has been a significant drop in the availability of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Cyrus said this could potentially be good news, although it took a global pandemic to interrupt the drug trade. “We may see a decrease and that makes me hopeful,” she said.
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