Bridging the gap on addiction
Forum recognizes Narcan saves, presents greater message
Warren County officers
recognized for using Narcan to
treat overdose victims:
Belvidere
Patrolman David Mariani
Patrolman Christopher Pappalardo Jr.
Cpl. Frank Tootle
Chief Matthew Scott
Patrolman Michael Castles
Patrolman Tracy Marsh
■ BY DAN CAMPANA
Union County Police Corporal Bill Carey
and wife Helen view drug addiction and officer
use of Narcan a little different than most.
Their son, Billy, tried pills in high school and
eventually struggled with heroin.
They worried about the stigma of being a
law enforcement family coping with their son’s
addiction.
They went to great lengths to find him treatment options while facing realities such as
when he stole Helen Carey’s jewelry to pawn
for money to fund his use.
They were devastated when Billy – who in
his younger days played Little League, was a
Cub Scout and enjoyed fishing – overdosed in
his bedroom at the age of 20 and died two days
later.
“I didn’t really tell anybody I worked with
about it,” Bill Carey said of his son’s addiction.
“We didn’t know what to do. He really wanted
to get clean.”
The Carey’s story was part of a recent forum
at Warren County Community College titled,
“Join the Conversation,” where nearly 40
police officers and other emergency personnel
were recognized for using Narcan to save the
lives of overdosing users. The event also delved
into the county’s current drug issues.
For Helen Carey, it was a meaningful gathering of law enforcement officers, families of
overdose victims and even users who survived
because of Narcan.
“I think this opened their minds,” she said of
officers in attendance.
The forum, presented by the Warren County
Recovery Advocacy Team, among other organizations, gave police a chance to see the
impact of Narcan’s use. Helen Carey points out
that most times, an officer has no idea what
happens once the person they just saved is
taken from the scene of an overdose.
“Police get to see the human side of it,” Bill
Carey, a 27-year department veteran, commented. “It’s nice to know you made an impact
in someone’s life.”
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■
DECEMBER 2015
Blairstown Township
Det. Nicholas Falcicchio
Cpl. S. Johnson
Hackettstown
Patrolman James Murtha
Sgt. David Garzon
The change in mindset toward Narcan is
slowly occurring. Carey acknowledges that
while the overdose antidote is becoming a
more mainstream tool every officer is expected
to carry, some cops have mixed feelings about
using because of the thought the person overdosing might continue using.
“When I started, we thought we could arrest
ourselves out of the problem,” Carey said
about the approach to handling the drug problem. “Once you hear the words ‘drug addict,’
your mind goes to a dark place.”
But, as the Careys point out, those
struggling with drug addiction aren’t “junkies”
– they’re kids from the neighborhood.
“Addiction doesn’t discriminate,” Helen
Carey said.
Added Bill Carey: “If it can happen to us, it
can happen to anyone.”
All this contributes to why the use of Narcan
was part of the forum’s focus. The Careys did
not have Narcan when they found their son,
but his death has motivated their mission to
inform others on how much help users need to
combat their addictions. Helen Carey is also
now a certified instructor on how to
administer Narcan.
Her husband recognizes that being so personally effected by the loss of a child to drugs
has changed how he views things. Although
he’s not necessarily talking about it more on
the job, he thinks the message is getting
through to others about