IDS Thursday, December 19, 2024
INSIDE
BEST PHOTOS OF 2024
Unhoused resources in Bloomington Overdose prevention 1
City of Bloomington HAND
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Bloomington Housing Authority
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Beacon Inc., Shalom Community Center
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Bloomington Township Trustee
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Perry Township Trustee
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Salvation Army
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Monroe County United Ministries
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South Central Community Action Program
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Indiana Legal Services
resources By Gentry Keener gekeener@iu.edu
The Indiana Recovery Alliance stated there had been an increase in non-fatal accidental overdoses in the past few days in Bloomington and Monroe County. According to IRA Executive Director Nick Voyles, the IRA tracks this information on accidential overdoses through participants directly telling them. Although the organization partners with the Monroe County Health Department for programs such as the Monroe County Syringe Service Program, non-fatal overdoses often aren’t tracked by larger organizations or departments. Indiana Recovery Alliance is a drug-user human rights advocacy organization that aims to reduce harm and educate on the effects and impacts of drug use. They focus on harm reduction, which is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Fatal accidental overdoses dramatically increased from September to October this year, according to the Monroe County Coroner Office. In September there was only one recorded fatal overdose, whereas in October there were six fatal overdoses. With an increase in accidental overdoses, the IRA stresses the importance of harm reduction tactics and being informed of the action to take if one occurs.
10 Community Kitchen Mother Hubbard's Cupboard
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12 HealthNet 13 Centerstone 14 Amethyst House 15 Indiana Recovery Alliance 16 A Friend's Place 17 Wheeler Mission 18 New Hope Family Shelter 19 New Leaf New Life SOURCE: CITY OF BLOOMINGTON
ILLUSTRATION BY ALAYNA WILKENING
20 STRIDE Center
Addiction and mental health resources By Madelyn Hanes
mrhanes@iu.edu | @madelynrhanes
If you or a loved one is battling addiction or mental health challenges, there are several resources available to help one’s journey to recovery. Here is a list of addiction recovery and mental health support available in Monroe County. Addiction recovery • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) - 1-800-662HELP SAMHSA is a confidential, 24/7 national hotline offering free treatment referral and information. • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) NIDA offers information
on research about substance use and treatment options. • IU Health Addiction Treatment & Recovery Center – 727 W. Second St. IU Health helps adults with an outpatient and inpatient therapy program. It can be reached at 1-800-387-3440 to make an appointment. IU Health offers financial assistance after submitting and completing a complete application for financial assistance. Call 888-531-3004 for financial counseling. • Amethyst House – 645 N. Walnut St. Amethyst House provides residential and outpatient services for drug and alcohol addiction. Their services can be reached at 812-336-3570. Clients must be clean and sober for a minimum of two
weeks before starting treatment. Fees are affordable and based on a sliding scale. • Clean Slate – 502 W. Second St. Suite A Clean Slate offers medication-assisted therapy for opioid, alcohol and other drug addictions in an appointment-based outpatient setting. It can be reached at 833-505-4673. Clean Slate offers a flexible payment option and will work with people to find a payment plan they can afford. • Indiana Center for Recovery – 1004 W. First St. The Indiana Center for Recovery provides addiction treatment through detox services, inpatient and outpatient. It can be reached at 574-500-2819. Most insurance is accepted.
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Recovery Engagement Center (REC) – 221 N. Rogers St. REC is a walk-in community center for adults seeking recovery. Here you can find resources, help or just a cup of coffee. They also provide recovery classes and coaching. It can be reached at 812337-2424.
Mental health resources In case of a mental health crisis, call 988 or seek the nearest emergency room. • Centerstone Bloomington – 645 S. Rogers St. Centerstone offers health counseling and substance use disorder treatments. It can be reached at 877-4673123 to make an appointment. At Centerstone anyone is welcome and the organi-
zation will work with people to make a payment plan and see if individuals qualify for grant-funding or need-based payment assistance programs. • IU Health Bloomington Hospital – 727 W. Second St. IU Health offers access to outpatient care, therapist, social service agencies and physicians. It can be reached at 812-353-3450 to make an appointment. IU Health offers financial assistance after submitting and completing a complete application for financial assistance. Call 888531-3004 for financial counseling. • Bloomington Meadows Hospital – 3600 N. Prow Road
Know the facts According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdoses are the leading injury-related cause of deaths in the United States. In 2023, 107,543 people died from drug overdoses, which equates to 294 overdoses each day. Over 80,000 of those deaths involved opioids. Last year, 2023 saw the first annual decrease in fatal drug overdoses since 2018. In Indiana, 725 people have died from drug abuse so far in 2024. Research shows people who have at least one overdose are likely to have another.
SEE ADDICTION, PAGE 4
Know the signs of an overdose Overdoses can be hard to identify. If someone is unsure, it is best to treat the situation like an overdose. According to the National Harm Reduction Coalition, signs of an overdose include, but are not limited to:
What readers can expect next semester I LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
t has been an honor to oversee this newspaper for a semester. We published stories that exposed sexual harassment and assault and gave voice to the vulnerable. We covered Election Day from the unopposed school board races to what Bloomingtonians thought of the presidential election. We documented the IU Funding Board’s overdraft, cuts to the Center for Research on Race and Ethnicity and the semester-long closure of Dunn Meadow. We reported on a stunning, record-breaking season of IU Football. A lot has happened this semester, and we hope we did a good job keeping the
public informed. Next semester, we plan to do even better. Things may look a bit different next semester. We’ll have seven regular newspapers next semester, each falling two or three weeks apart. This may be a change for some of our more dedicated print readers, but we encourage them to still pick up copies of the IDS when they appear and to read what we publish online, where we will continue to provide 24/7 news. If you want a reminder to check the IDS, you can get some of the top stories delivered daily or weekly to your email inbox by subscribing to our free newsletters.
Though print publication will be reduced, readers can expect exciting new initiatives from the IDS. We plan to engage more directly with student organizations and the broader community so we can ensure we’re covering the news that people want the most. We want to hear your ideas, questions and concerns – we’re here to teach students how to be good journalists, but we’re also here to serve the community. We have a weekly news podcast we want to expand as well as talented videographers on staff who are excited to produce short, documentary-style content about community arts or
news. We’re striving to improve our coverage of city and county governance, take on hard-hitting investigations with local impact and improve our financial position so the community will no longer have to worry about losing another source of news. For this week’s edition of the IDS, and the last printed weekly edition until at least Fall 2025, we have decided to feature stories that illustrate resources for Bloomingtonians currently experiencing homelessness during this harsh winter weather. Since this newspaper will stay in the stands until students return from break, we hope it can be useful for
anyone who needs it for the next few weeks. In the meantime, please read the IDS and let us know how we can be better at editor@idsnews.com. If you’re a local business owner, consider advertising with us by emailing advertise@ idsnews.com, whether it’s online, to our thousands of social media followers, our robust print audience or in one of our newsletters.
• • • • •
Marissa Meador
CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
• Jacob Spudich
SEE OVERDOSE, PAGE 4
CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Bloomington's 7 Day Forecast
Loss of consciousness Being unresponsive to outside stimulus Being awake, but unable to talk Breathing is very slow and shallow, erratic or has stopped For lighter skinned people, the skin tone turns bluish purple, and for darker skinned people, it turns grayish or ashen Vomiting
SOURCE: JOSHUA ELMS | JMELMS@IU.EDU GRAPHICS BY: ALAYNA WILKENING
Thursday Dec. 19
Friday Dec. 20
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40° 29° P: 10%
36° 23° P:40%
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44° 37° P: 70%
48° 39° P: 50%
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