WESTBROOK — As a young professional in the social service field, a graduate student in social work and, most significantly, a woman in recovery, I’ve become increasingly appalled at the lack of detoxification beds available within the state of Maine.

Opiate addiction has undoubtedly become a public health crisis, yet in our state, which upholds the slogan “the way life should be,” there is nearly no access to the preliminary step of recovery: physical detox. As a result, the multitude of people who are physically dependent on opiates are dealing with a scarcity of state resources that not only keeps them from seeking a quality life but also could result in their death.

In light of a significant loss in the battle for facilities, particularly the closing of Mercy Hospital’s detox unit last year, programs like Operation Hope, piloted in Maine by the Scarborough Police Department, have undoubtedly made an impact. We gained a great resource in Operation Hope, launched only three months after the closing of Mercy Recovery Center, which allows those who are addicted to opioids to walk into the Scarborough police station to get help.

Operation Hope places nearly all of those seeking help in out-of-state rehabilitation centers; a total of over $2.5 million in services has been donated by these clinics. Through the great efforts of these facilities, volunteers, the Portland Recovery Community Center and the Scarborough police, addicts in our community have regained access to treatment.

Although Operation Hope has, to date, placed 200 individuals in treatment facilities, I wonder why we must send Maine residents elsewhere in order to offer them, by no exaggeration of the expression, the right to live.

In Portland, a slew of long-term treatment options exists. Choices range from long-standing rehabilitation programs like Crossroads’ Back Cove Women’s Rehabilitation Program to low-cost sober housing within the six current democratically run, self-sustaining residences that follow the Oxford House model.

However, none of these avenues addresses the primary barrier that faces addicts on every level of the socioeconomic ladder: the need for physical detox from opiates. In fact, the only easily accessible facility available for the acute stages of detox in the Portland area is Milestone, which, because of a shortage of beds, inevitably turns away dozens of people actively seeking recovery every day.

In fact, although opiate detox is just the initial hurdle of seeking recovery from dependence, little can be achieved in our community in addressing this epidemic until more detox beds become available. However, this need is likely to remain unmet. While the number of people seeking treatment for opiate addiction in Maine has rapidly multiplied in the last decade, the number of people eligible for MaineCare continues to decline. Undoubtedly, the limitations in eligibility have affected those who suffer from substance use disorder.

Although state officials have justified limiting MaineCare enrollment on the basis that it limits the risk of extraordinary cost to taxpayers in facilitating treatment for addicts, these savings are negated by spending on other related health care services, such as emergency room visits for people who have overdosed. While Gov. LePage continues to promote primary care for chronic opiate use, addicts who are uninsured can’t access these services. Moreover, until they are physically detoxed, such an approach is highly unlikely to make any difference whatsoever.

It seems unlikely that MaineCare eligibility will be expanded in the near future. Sadly, as a result, the availability of detox beds is likely to stay stagnant. While volunteers flock to ask out-of-state rehabilitation center to donate their services to Operation HOPE, we may ask this: Why it is so important for opiate addicts to receive treatment locally?

Aside from accessibility, the community-based approach to opiate addiction, and its counterpart, long-term recovery, answers this inquiry. If we are unable to offer initial three- to seven-day detox services in our community, seeking instead to send an addicted individual to one of the many charity beds nationwide, our community will continue to be subject to a false image of opiate addiction.

Among thousands of people with substance use disorder in long-term recovery, our focus will continue to be on those who are not getting better. Ultimately, this paints a skewed portrayal of the opiate epidemic in Maine: People are seeking help, but they face immense barriers, their quest for recovery doomed from the start because of a lack of detox beds.

— Special to the Press Herald

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