Those suffering with addiction struggling with isolation, getting treatment during pandemic

Brian Hucker’s frequent drinking led him down a dark path he finally realized about a half-dozen years ago he just couldn’t travel anymore.

“Most of my addiction was created when I was alone,” he said. “I’d get into my head and start spinning and not be able to find any way out. So, you use alcohol to subdue that feeling. But then you get to a point in the addiction where that didn’t work any more.“There were complete blackouts, getting into problems — legal things — and that’s not my character at all. I ended up in situations I was not proud of and could see my life slipping away on me.”It led Hucker, now 66, to seek a variety of treatments to address his alcohol issues that included Brentwood and other area recovery programs.

The retired teacher about five years ago wound up joining STAGES (Sobriety Through Accessing Group Education and Support) at the local Canadian Mental Health Association, a “concurrent program” that offers support to those struggling with combined addiction and mental health issues.

The program’s routine over the years of weekly group meetings, familiar faces, camaraderie or reaching out to support those new who entered the program has meant the world to him, Hucker said. Meetings usually involve 15 to 20 people, he said.“It’s been a real good support system for me — and many people in recovery after giving up addiction and working on staying that way,” Hucker said. “It’s really worked for me on dealing with life. It’s become so much a part of my life.”But in mid-March the COVID-19 pandemic forced the program to suddenly shut down, leaving Hucker and many others to wrestle with their addiction demons not only on their own, but under extreme isolation due to the widespread government-led lockdowns.

It was the same story for countless Windsor-area addicts — current or recovering — as hospital and other support programs across Windsor and Essex County had to turn off the lights.

“It just felt like a great loss,” Hucker said. “At the meetings, these are people like me who understand what I have been through. There is no judging. To suddenly not have that connection, be able to talk about how you are feeling each week was a big loss.

“It was ‘oh no, now what am I going to do.’”

Without such support, counselling or treatment, those battling addictions can slide quick, he said.

“You feel isolated and lose touch,” Hucker said. “Relapse is the biggest fear for everyone. It’s different for everybody, but you can lose a sense of hope and connectedness.

“It’s awful to see people who worked so diligently during recovery slip away because there is no structure they can turn to. Some people don’t make it back.”Local agencies which support or counsel people struggling with addictions in some cases have watched demand for help accelerate during the pandemic, but in other cases numbers are way down as addicts seemingly disappeared back into their own world, stopped reaching out or had safety fears of entering facilities such as hospitals.The Canadian Mental Heath Association and Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital, among others, have aggressively throughout the pandemic issued public awareness alerts that treatment counsellors have remained available at all times for anyone struggling with drug or alcohol use despite the forced closure of face-to-face sessions.

As quickly as possible, agencies have adjusted to counselling by phone or technology-based online group meetings.

Naty Ramirez-Reyes, manager at CMHA of the addiction programs, including STAGES, said it was a major adjustment to lose in-person counselling sessions, but credits staff for doing their best.

“Our staff has done a phenomenal job to be creative and adjust to meet each client’s needs,” she said.

There has been a noticeable “uptick in references” in recent weeks as those struggling with addictions have started to reach out as restrictions ease, Ramirez-Reyes said.

“With COVID as people moved into isolation it added to the complexities some people were already dealing with,” she said. “We are seeing an increase in the addiction piece of things.”

While phone or online sessions remain vital to assist those in need, social isolation being added to the mix for addicts and not including face-to-face group or individual counselling sessions for many of them “is not the ideal way” to provide treatment or support in their recovery.

“They are not able to interact in a group, not work with a sponsor,” she said. “You need that face-to-face.”Hucker, struggling with the loss of his STAGES program, was grateful when a couple of months into the pandemic it was somewhat revived through online Google group meetings.While very helpful, he estimates about half of the program’s value has been lost for him due to the lack of human contact with counsellors, but especially his cohorts in the group who he can no longer bond with in the same manner through a “pat on the back,” hug or a few minutes of personal conversation before and after meetings.

“When offered the service online I jumped right on it,” he said “It’s not the same, but has been a lifesaver. I was feeling a sense of loss and loneliness. You were doing all the work (in the program) and then boom the plug is pulled from you.

“I fear for others who don’t have the technology or ways to keep (receiving treatment).”

Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare offers 20 withdrawal management beds, plus provides an array of outpatient services for this struggling with addictions.

Most likely due to being a hospital setting, the numbers of request for services tumbled significantly during the pandemic.

In the five months prior to the pandemic between Oct. 1, 2019 and the end of this past February, there were 488 admissions or registrations for the residential withdrawal management program at the hospital.

But in the first five months of the pandemic from March 1 until July 31 that number dropped by almost half to only 240. Other addiction-related programs at the hospital saw similar substantial decreases.In recent weeks, however, demand for addiction services has really been on the upswing as pandemic restrictions start to ease, said Patrick Kolowicz, director of mental health and addictions at HDGH.What’s been different since the start of the lockdown is in the months prior people were reaching out if in a “problematic” condition related to drug or alcohol use, but during the pandemic “we are seeing people in a crisis-type state,” he said.

“It’s much more difficult when that occurs to address their issues,” Kolowicz said. “If it’s a non-urgent basis you can create some plan based on the dependence and substance involved.”

While it’s too early to define any “trends” related to the pandemic and addictions, those seeking help are displaying “amplified problems” with substance addiction and more “concurrent disorders” of combined mental health and addiction woes, he said.

As with most help agencies, HDGH has attempted to move quickly to provide virtual online support and counselling services. It appears to be working well enough in many cases, Kolowicz said.

He believes much of the new use of technology may become permanent.“At the end of the day, we are unsure of the balance, but we will evaluate the effectiveness of virtual services,” Kolowicz said. “Is it meeting people’s needs and we will determine whether there are any gaps”

At the House of Sophrosyne, one of the region’s primary addiction treatment centres designed solely for women, it has been difficult for staff to keep up with demand which has accelerated since the pandemic began, said Karen Waddell, the centre’s executive director.

“The need across the board has increased,” she said. “Our call volumes are increasing, our waitlist has grown longer and the number of deaths related to addiction has increased.

“With COVID, the isolation it has created has left people with more anxiety, depression. With that, substance use has increased as a means of coping. (With addictions) that can involve a whole number of issues that can be magnified under the existing situation and it makes everything worse.”

Compounding the availability of treatment at the women’s recovery centre is how the residential treatment home — available to anyone in need across Ontario — has had to significantly curtail the number of clients allowed to comply with social distance and health safety regulations.

Under normal circumstances, the recovery treatment home can accommodate up to 30 women in residence, but that has been limited to only seven during the virus crisis, leading to an explosion in wait times by an added several months.“At a time when people need services the most, COVID has reduced our beds,” Waddell said.

The agency is doing what it can through virtual online counselling, but there have been over 450 individuals dealt with or requesting services at House of Sophrosyne since mid-April, she said.“What’s been really important is for individuals to feel like they are not alone at this time,” Waddell said. “As we reach out, we will engage them so that we can triage and get them the appropriate level of intensity (of treatment) that we see.

“Whether it’s virtual or crisis counselling we try to get them what they need right away.”

Available government funding to address addictions is slowly starting to increase, “but we need to act now, we need to find a way to increase services,” she said.

For the Canadian Mental Health Association or Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital, the 24-hour crisis line is 519-973-4435.

To reach CMHA at their their downtown office during business hours at 519-255-7440. The agency online is windsoressex.cmha.ca.

HDGH can be reached at 519-257-5111 or visit online at hdgh.org.

For the House of Sophrosyne call 519-252-2711 or visit online at sophrosyne.ca.