Churches answer call to battle addiction
The shame of drug abuse has kept addicts and their families away from places that can help them. Churches and faith organizations have long been vital hubs for community healing and education, said Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission director Cheryl Andrews. So that’s why the agency partnered with at least 40 churches in the county to launch Project Refuge.
“We need partners to fight this opioid overdose epidemic. The faith community is becoming a huge partner in that. This is almost a sort of neighborhood watch accountability program, in that stickers will be placed in church windows to identify them as safe spaces,” Andrews said.
The program, aimed at helping faith leaders organize and educate their congregations on drug addiction, is also a way for addicts to get help without criminal prosecution. The safe space of the church would provide more than spiritual healing, Andrews said, as those who seek treatment and counseling referrals through their pastor could avoid violations to their parole or criminal record so long as they are not actively engaged in crime. Andrews said simply using – and seeking help to stop – should not be treated as a criminal act, in itself.
“We’re working with District Attorney Gene Vittone and the parole office. Pastors have been hesitant to refer addicts because there has been genuine fear on their part that their referral would get that person in trouble. That’s going to stop,” Andrews said, “because treatment is the priority, not locking someone up.”
More than 100 faith leaders and congregation members met with Andrews and officials from her agency on June 8 to launch the program. The Rev. Michael Lehman of Fairhill Manor Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on Montgomery Avenue in Washington lamented at the meeting that churches and their congregations have to do a better job at not looking down on addicts.
“Whether we like to admit it or not, our sanctuaries have not been seen as safe places, but as places of judgment because of the stigma of the disease,” Lehman said. “And that is a great shame of the church today. Part of the message (delivered at the June 6 meeting) is admitting that head-on, and that we need to build acceptance of those who are on this path and dealing with the disease of addiction.”
Lehman, like the other 50 pastors at the meeting, was sent home with Narcan, the emergency antidote for opioid overdoses, along with training on how to administer it. Reviving overdose victims likely won’t be a part of Lehman’s duties, but educating his congregation on how to help addicts will be part of his job.
“We do have an epidemic on our hands. If it were something like polio, we would have all hands on deck. But we must, because our community is dying,” Lehman said.
When asked if proselytizing was part of Project Refuge’s mission, Lehman said it will differ for each church, but that’s not a primary focus for his church.
“The business of the church is of course to make disciples and connect with God through Christ. But we also need to recognize the spiritual journey back from addiction is a long and slow one. It’s our job to walk along with them through that journey and let God do work through them,” Lehman said.
The effort to help addicts through community churches is similar to the localized effort in Canonsburg launched in Oct. 2015 with the Communities Moving Forward Coalition, which takes addiction education to the pulpit.