“Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” This quote by James Baldwin was part of the inspiration for a new project in the Copper Country. It’s called FACE (Facing Addiction through Community Engagement), and will focus on supporting loved ones of those dealing with addiction. Recovery from addiction (also known as Substance Use Disorder or SUD) can often overlook the “affected others” such as spouses, parents, and children of the person with SUD. The FACE project aims to change this.

Project Director Gail Ploe said, “For every person with a substance use disorder, there are so many affected others – children, partners, parents, family and friends – who suffer right along with them. Unfortunately, they don’t always get the support and services they need. This project will not only help families, it will help people with SUD because family involvement is such an important part of recovery.”

“We can’t forget that, even in the midst of the pandemic, the opioid epidemic continues,” said Kathy Mayo, Health Administrator at the Donald A. LaPointe Health & Education Center in Baraga. The American Medical Association recently declared itself “greatly concerned” by reports of increased death from overdoses, particularly of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Suspected overdoses nationally — not all of them fatal — jumped 18% in March compared with last year, 29% in April and 42% in May, according to the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program.

Although the project is primarily focused on opioids, FACE will promote resources for any kind of Substance Use Disorder. An important step in the project is to gather information and opinions from people who live in the Western U.P. A short, confidential survey is available online at www.sudfaceup.org/surveys. Community members are encouraged to take the survey for the general public-whether or not they have been impacted by addiction. On the website, there are also specific surveys for those who provide care or assistance and those who have struggled with drug use.

“Here at Dial Help, we help people find the resources they need to address the hardships in their lives, and substance misuse is a big one,” said Rebecca Crane, Executive Director at Dial Help. “We’re excited to be a part of this project because recovery really involves the whole family – there’s trauma to deal with but having the right resources can make a difference for everyone involved.”

For more information about this project, visit www.sudefaceup.org or call 906-281-6061. The Western UP Health Department is the lead agency for this project, with a $200,000 Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (R-CORP) grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Partners include Dial Help, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, and Lac Vieux Desert. You can follow the project on social media at www.instagram.com/906face/ or www.facebook.com/sudfaceup.