Survey: Public says opioid use in Phoenix is serious problem, supports intervention funding

By Mark Carlisle
Mail | X: @mwcarlisle

The public feels opioid use is a serious problem in Phoenix and is very supportive of funding substance abuse intervention and treatment initiatives, a city of Phoenix survey found.

All 19 initiatives pitched to the public by city staff received at least a 3.5 average on a scale of 5 and most were above a 4, according to Arizona State University Health Solutions professor Michelle Shiota, who assisted the city in the survey.

The survey results, presented last week to the Phoenix Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee, also found the issue of opioid abuse hits home with Valley residents. Of the 765 respondents to the survey, 31% had used opioids in the past five years, 48% know someone addicted to opioids, 61% know someone addicted to another substance, 42% have encountered at least one person in the past three years who appeared to have overdosed, and 70% believe opioid use is a very serious problem in the community.

“This is an issue that affects just about every Phoenician in some way,” said Phoenix Councilmember Kesha Hodge Washington.

Many of the 31% in the survey who said they had used opioids during the past five years reported use of prescription opioids, Shiota said, but some reported illicit use. Shiota noted evidence has shown prescription opioid use can often lead to illicit use later.

Free naloxone kits available at Phoenix libraries contain two 4 milligram doses of Narcan nasal spray, a pair of gloves and a pamphlet in English and Spanish on how to identify an overdose and administer the spray. (Courtesy city of Phoenix)

The survey results, as well as the results of two separate surveys the city conducted last year, are helping to steer the city’s use of roughly $3.5 million per year the city will receive through 2031 in settlement funds from opioid makers as part of the One Arizona Distribution of Opioid Settlement Funds.

After 2031, the city will receive $2.15 million per year through 2040.

City staff, led by Public Health Advisor Nicole Dupuis-Witt, is drafting a five-year strategic opioid response plan it will present to council for approval. Annual action plans will be spun out each year.

“I think this is some of the most important work that we’re doing at the city,” said Councilmember Yassamin Ansari. “There’s very few issues that I think we hear more about as elected leaders than this intersection between housing and security but also concern around youth and addition and of course how it all inter-relates with homelessness and all the rest.”

The 10 steps Dupuis-Witt and Shiota laid out as priorities in the city’s plans were:

• Surveillance and data;
• Dedicated crisis and post-overdose response teams;
• Prevention education in K-12 settings;
• Increased housing access;
• Naloxone access and harm reduction street outreach;
• Care navigators;
• Justice system diversion;
• Transportation to services;
• Expanding remote services;
• Addressing stigma around drug users.

In the survey to the general public as well as the other surveys the city conducted — one for substance abuse service providers and response agencies and the other for people who use drugs themselves — Shiota noted that “increased access to housing comes up over and over and over again.”

Dupuis-Witt noted many opioid treatment programs require daily appointments.

“As we see with many other health concerns, it’s very challenging for individuals to maintain or have success with any kind of treatment without stable housing or access to reliable transportation,” she said.

Similarly, things like unemployment and food insecurity can be major hurdles before people seek treatment.

“It’s really difficult to even contemplate much less be successful at treatment and recovery if you’re struggling to meet your basic needs,” Shiota said.

Out of the 19 initiatives presented in the survey, the five most popular were:

• Programs for pregnant women and infants exposed to drugs;
• Prevention programs for youth;
• Increasing access to opioid/substance abuse treatment;
• Social services for substance users (e.g. housing, food, employment);
• Increase education on substance use disorder for law enforcement, first responders and other public-facing city staff.

Part of Phoenix’s planning efforts will be coordinating with other agencies like the county and state to ensure gaps in available services are met. The Maricopa County Public Health Department recently released its strategies for opioid response, and Dupuis-Witt said Phoenix will look to have complementary rather than redundant services to what the county will provide.

In the survey of providers, Phoenix found K-12 education was not a strong focus among available services, presenting a gap the city may look to fill.

“If that recommendation comes forward, we will have to do a little bit more work in understanding what are the needs within K-12 settings and what should those actual actions be at the local level,” Dupuis-Witt said.

Subcommittee Chair Kevin Robinson, who had a long career with the Phoenix Police Department, spoke to the need for justice system diversion programs.

“You’re not going to solve the problem by incarcerating people. That’s just not going to happen,” Robinson said.

One of the other major barriers to treatment was drug users distrust of law enforcement, which Dupuis-Witt said was natural when it came to illicit drug use.

The survey’s fifth-most supported initiative was educating law enforcement — as well as some other public-facing city staff — to be better equipped in how to approach a person using opioids or other substances.

Shiota said the responsibility will not and should not rest entirely on law enforcement. Rather, it will be a “meeting in the middle” so that law enforcement is better able to address these situations comfortably but also providing people with deeper expertise to manage the situations effectively.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Mark Carlisle can be reached at mcarlisle@iniusa.org.

Mark Carlisle
Associate Editor | Phoenix

mcarlisle@iniusa.org

Meet Mark

Mark Carlisle joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, covering Glendale. He has since moved to the Daily Independent team, primarily covering the city of Phoenix along with other topics affecting the Valley at-large.

Community: Mark enjoys taking his two young sons to parks, the Phoenix Zoo, the Phoenix Public Library  and other fun events around the Valley. He also participates in a local book club.

Education: Chapman University with a BA in English Journalism and one in Screenwriting.

Random Fact: Mark worked at a tuxedo shop in college. Just don’t ask him to tie a bowtie.

 Hobbies: Spending time with his wife, sons and dog, watching sports and TV shows, listening to audiobooks and occasionally writing fiction or designing a board game.