 Welcome everyone to the addiction recovery channel or I'm Ed Baker and I'm your host producer. I'm very pleased to be with you Here this morning. I'm especially indebted to CCTV for accommodating This manner of producing the show. We're doing our first show by zoom I'm sure we're not alone in growing accustomed to zoom zoom has become everybody's friend during this most profound Corona virus Today, we're fortunate to have Gary DeKerales who is the executive director at the Chittenden County Turning point as our guests. Thank you so much Gary for being with us here this morning Glad to be here Ed. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, and I know that you don't have a lot of time and your time is well spent So I'm particularly indebted to you You know needless to say, I mean, we're all under a lot of stress Equals of COVID-19 We're all trying to adapt and do our best to Stay in and stay safe and protect. They're very vulnerable. I want to recognize that I know you're doing that Gary and I'm doing that too. I want to recognize that. I want to start by setting a little bit of a context for For Vermont very very briefly as of yesterday April 8th the health department was Reporting a total of 23 fatalities in Vermont due to COVID-19 That was the same number that had been recorded on The day before on April 7th, so there was no no increase in fatalities and that's that's good But one death is is too many. We all know that The other the other interesting Fact that bears upon our show today or interview today Is that the the bulk the majority of fatalities is in Chittenden County? Chittenden County, of course, is where the Chittenden County Attorney Point Center is so we're one of the most effective affected counties and Gary, I wanted you to just maybe begin with that. I know that You know providing services to people with substance use disorders or heart And the last thing that you want to do was to close down You know access to the center itself. Can you talk a little bit about that? How that was for you and what what exactly went into that decision? Sure, I'd be glad to add I think as We entered this whole coronavirus Pandemic here in Vermont The first thing that was on my mind was can I assure that my staff who are all in recovery themselves? Are going to be safe if they come into the center and the answer to that? Was if we this is you I couldn't Act I think how we operate here, which is how a large kind of a great room where people gather Yeah, just the opposite I thought that I would be putting staff and other guests in jeopardy by remaining open Yeah, yeah, and I for those of the viewers who have certainly the governor's been very good about laying some Yeah, playing some clear guidelines about all this as well so So we had to close the center in terms of physical contact, but we are very much open in terms of social contact Through me like this phone boom meeting and We're doing that seven days a week and we're not we're not closed for business. We're just closed for being socially connected Physically connected. We're socially connected. We're not physically connected Yeah, and that that doesn't surprise me at all Gary that you would make the hard decision For the common good and then do as much as is humanly possible to continue to deliver Well, what are what are really needed vital services to people with with substance use disorder? And I guess none of us are really immune from these hard decisions. I mean we have close family you know a grandchild and and And our children who live right by five blocks away and we're a social distancing From them. Well, we're not we're not we're not getting together because we don't want to risk Transmitting the disease we all know now that people can be a asymptomatic and be infected with COVID-19 and Certainly the recovery center is a place You know that supports intimacy and interaction and closeness and it must have been a really difficult decision to to Protect the common good. Yeah, yes We were the first of the 12 centers to close but it wasn't soon after that the other 11 Also did the same thing You know and I was on a meeting yesterday another zoom meeting and someone said, you know We're we talk a lot about social isolation during this time, but we're really talking about physical isolation not necessarily social isolation because of Platforms like this where we can stay connected Actually see each other hear each other And I I'd like that reframing of this. It's physical isolation Versus social isolation and as you know Ed one of the biggest enemies of Recovery is isolation. Yeah, so it is very important that we do stay connected during this time Yeah, you know, I have a lot of associates that are in recovery and also attending alcoholics anonymous and I don't know too much about other 12-step programs and how they handling this but alcoholics anonymous Has done an exceptional job of setting up zoom platforms. There's meetings all day long People are going to meetings people from Vermont or all of a sudden going to meetings in Louisiana and you know Arkansas and New Jersey and meeting new people and having new friendships. So there's this there's a little silver Lining and now people are staying connected people with technology anyway people who have technology to do that It's something to say Yes, absolutely. We have a recovery community yoga program here Yoga probably times a week and One of the interesting things is the they've gone to a zoom platform as well And they're having people come who physically weren't able to come in the past join these zoom yoga classes And then people from all over the state are joining in as well So the numbers are actually bigger than they ever were when we could just offer physical Connection that's beautiful. That's really beautiful Gary. You know, so I wanted to um, I wanted to accentuate something that That you and I know and people familiar with people with substance use disorder Know that this is a very vulnerable population without COVID-19 but but but the population with substance use disorder is actually more vulnerable to serious symptomatology and fatality are resulting from COVID-19 people who COVID-19 attacks the respiratory system the coronavirus attacks the respiratory system people who smoke cigarettes are more at risk people who THC people who they Nicotine have diminished lung capacity. They are more at risk people with opioid use disorder opioid Use will depress our respiratory function So people with opioid use disorder who contract COVID-19 are also at more risk for fatality Methamphetamine constricts blood vessels which can lead to pulmonary Complications so people who use methamphetamine are more at risk for fatality if they Interact COVID-19 you and I know that not all people with substance use disorder Lack access to health care But by far the great majority of the people you come into contact with at the recovery center Have inadequate access to health care, which is another complicating factor housing There's so many other variables that affect the population that that you are dealing with so I'd like you to To you know with with that in mind. How are you continuing? To do your best and have your staff do their best to maintain support for this population. What are you doing gary? Okay, well and by the way, Ed you what you just said is very very true unfortunate Many of our guests that went through our in recovery are still smoking and cigarettes and They their lung capacity is compromised during this Coronavirus pandemic what we're trying to do here is to pivot as quickly as possible so that we could keep connections and even extend Ourselves to connect with people that we have worked with in the past. I'll give you an example. We have Recovery coaches up at the emergency department. They've gone from actually physically being in the emergency department To being able by and if a doc is seeing a patient that as a An addiction that came into the emergency department for something related to their addiction And so we're doing that but more so what we're also doing is we have seen over 600 people in the last year and a half Up at the hospital We're connecting with all those people to see if they want some support during this time. Whoa Back over your records and reaching out to them Exactly beautiful and and then if they do want continued support or renewed support during this time our peer support Specialists are here. They're gonna give me the name and contact information and then one of our peer support specialists We'll put them on a rolling contact with them as long as they want and then Also our recovery coaches are reaching out to all their folks that they've been working with To make sure that they know they're available for meetings through zoom or phone calls And then we have seven-day coverage by phone here In the center Someone can call 802-861-3150 and someone Will answer whether it's or again another person and Sure, we to where they want to so we're trying to pick up as many pieces as possible to Make sure that we're connecting to as many people as possible And do you find that is that being utilized are people calling in a people calling that number of people utilizing Staff for support, you know, they are they are and but not as much as I'd like to see to be honest with you There's a lot of people that would come into our center that I don't know what's going on for them right now And it's a great concern for me Yeah, but I'm hoping as we keep moving out and letting the public know that we're Available open on calls that will continue to spread out and reach more people And I imagine when What we're calling Social what what did you what did you call it? So rather than social isolation is what's used a lot today What we're saying it's physical isolation and we want to keep connecting with people in a social way other than Physically, so I imagine when when physical that when the need for physical isolation is Gone, you know, which we don't know when that's going to be but when we're allowed to come to it again that you'll have some aggressive Programs in place to reach out to the communities and popularized at the recovery center is opening And I'll help you with that if you'd like we can do a show on a opening of the recovery center and get that message out There to as many people as possible That would be wonderful. I'd appreciate that very much that Absolutely, yeah, you know because I mean I know how deeply you care about This population and I do too and you know the good thing the wonderful thing that I know you you've seen over your years Working very very closely With this population is they they they look out for each other So we have to kind of take some solace in that that they're doing their best to look out for each other out there You know, I want to thank you for everything That that you're that you're doing You know now I think that that this show here. I would like I would like This will be shared. I hope widely and Maybe it'll get out to people actually in recovery or in early recovery So I know that you had some specific things That that that people can do, you know, like sort of you had mentioned creating Routine reaching out to others at all costs What would we would go let's go over some of those what's the importance of creating? This is During this time as I we talked about earlier, this is no so we have to we have to have physical isolation to protect ourselves from this virus That's a given but we need Connection and you know The the enemy of recovery is isolation. So what do we do and there's some people who might be less Aggressive and seeking out that connection and I encourage them to push themselves to call somebody Yeah, if it's calling us terrific if it's calling a friend or family member or even someone you haven't been in touch with for a long time reach out and You're not only helping yourself, but you're also giving the other person an opportunity To do something to help a fellow human being and so I'm I encourage people to do that at all costs and and really For those that have social anxiety this might be difficult, but it is incumbent on you to do that Second of all, I think physical activity during this time is very important Yeah, you know my wife and I take a walk you add in and Ellen take a walk every day Yeah, that's just to keep the body going keep all the the parts from the brain to the toes Yeah, yeah, and so I encourage safe walking Wear a mask if you're gonna be around other people and don't they say isn't there there's a saying a Move a muscle to change the thought So, you know if you happen to be in early recovery and you're having a hard time if you're a little bit depressed Move a muscle go for a walk, you know something change that thought around do something positive It's the difference between being active and being inactive is really important Absolutely, and if you know if you don't want to go out of the house Put some music on and do some wild dancing in the house, right? No one's got to see it, but it'll get that body moving It might be embarrassing but see how many push-ups I like this one Gary, I really like this one a lot Explore getting to know yourself like never before you had said that what do you mean by that? Well, you know it is a time for reflection I mean we're probably spending more time by ourselves now than we've probably have in years if not ever yeah, and so sometimes You know writing can be a very helpful way to get some of that out about who am I and what am I all of them? What do I want to do in life? The other thing I know for having been in Career for years a lot of things that I love to do when I was younger that my work over the years It washed him away. I had forgotten about him and so during this time. It's been helpful for me, and I think helpful for other people That's back. What are those things that I really really enjoyed doing and those things back? Yeah, you know Those are the those are the things that help renew or charge the battery so to speak and so it'll And we need those things right now We do we do well I encourage people to do that work So we do we need those things more so than ever before so create routine Try to create routine reach out reach out even when it's difficult Even when you may may not be used to reaching out because by reaching out You can help someone and by reaching out a person a person can reach out just to make contact or a person can reach out for help When when when someone reaches out to me for help and I can actually help them that is incredibly rewarding for me It's not a cost exactly. It's a benefit to me So people out there who need help reach out for help. Don't be ashamed to reach out to help do that Because you know the other side of that is someone's gonna reach out to you for help too and so it's a 50-50 deal here and We're all part of the same community and and we just got to keep in a sense creating community by that reaching out Yeah, good good point caring, you know the other thing that's going on that that I'm aware of is there are there are a few confidential recovery sites on Facebook and They are very very active now. There's more and more people connecting on Facebook in a confidential You know a a site or an a site where you're not breaking anonymity to talk to people about your recovery or a a puts It's a special a a site so it urged those out there who haven't yet found those to seek Some of those sites and get invited to join some of those sites They're more and more there are very many ways of supporting each other that we're Creating all right. I know that dumb. I know you're very busy Gary, I want to tell you that I'm hoping that next week or my next show. I think I'm gonna have Grace Keller on from good a safe recovery and talk about people with Engaged in harm reduction support services. So I I just can't tell you how much that I Appreciate what you do your leadership Your your unwavering Dedication even you know in the face of the corona virus you're out there Doing the best you can I want to commend you for that I want to thank you for that and I want to just give you this last 30 seconds or however long you want to take you just give a you know Say your message whatever message you have for the viewing audience and then we'll we'll wrap up the show Okay, well, thank you and thanks for your kind words You're it takes one to know and my friend So what I would say for folks beyond what Ed and I have already talked about is go to our website at www turning point center VT org and in on that website at the home page right now. You'll see a button that says resources available during this corona virus time and Those you'll see in there Meetings and activities that we've got going but you also see a button If you want to have a recovery coach, just hit that button Give us the contact information and we'll get it to our recovery coach supervisor and hook you up with a recovery coach almost instantly and I so we're here for you and please take advantage of that Don't be shy You know apologies. It's we're all in this together and I want to come out of this all together as well I don't want to lose one person if we can avoid that and so Thank you for the opportunity yet for being on your show and I wish you and Ellen the best Thank you. Thank you guys into you and Barbara and for the viewing audience. They'll be a slide that'll be lingering now So get a piece of paper in a pencil. You can write down that website you can write down that phone number and You're not alone as long as Gary the Carolus is in town. You're not alone. Thank you Gary. Thank you. Bye. Bye