Substance abuse help now online in San Mateo County

“This is crucial in making sure that people who deal with substance abuse disorders can come together to share what they’re going through. We call it physical distancing, not social distancing,” said Heath. 

As a peer-to-peer group, Voices of Recovery facilitates meetings and a 12-step program for struggling addicts, encouraging dialogue between people experiencing similar hurdles. 

“This was so important not only for the people using the services but our staff as well. We’re peer to peer meaning our staff has lived experience of substance abuse. The isolation is an issue for people recovering to begin with, so making sure they have that connection and can share their feelings is important,” said Heath.

Greg Thompson, an employee of the facility and recovering addict himself, said the program has been a vital tool for keeping him on a path of sobriety. 

“I have struggled with addiction since I was 12 and I’m 36 now. Voices of Recovery has been the biggest change from before with staying clean,” said Thompson. “A lot of people would relapse or go into some type of crisis, and free time and stress would cause people to panic. People are locked inside, and it’s important to have these support groups so people know they still have you.”

The transition from in-person meetings to telecasting has been difficult for the organization, and is still in progress. Access to laptops and WiFi has been a challenge for both the staff and clients but the organization has seen an increase in meeting participation and service requests. Heath says they are now receiving three to four calls a day, a 20% increase from before the order to shelter in place. 

“Just having idle time can be a trigger for what we deal with. We are giving them an outlet they can use to talk about what they’re dealing with and tools they have and can use in order to stay sober,” said Heath. 

Although organizations like Voices of Recovery are experiencing greater traffic for service requests, Clara Boyden, deputy director of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, says calls to the San Mateo County call center for March were down 33% compared to January and February. Call volume for March was also similar to numbers for the same time frame last year. 

“March 2020 calls were the same, in volume, as March 2019, so we cannot say for sure if the change in call volume is related to COVID-19, or a more typical reduction in calls after the new-year resolution calls naturally diminish,” Boyden said in an email. 

She also said it was too early to draw conclusions on how the current crisis is affecting people requesting help, but staff has noticed an increase in severity of cases. 

“Anecdotally, county substance use disorder staff have shared they are seeing a slowdown in referrals the first week after the shelter-in-place order was in place, and there has been a steady increase since then. The individuals who are requesting services appear to have a higher severity need. Our emergency department referrals the past two weeks have increased over the average number of weekly referrals,” said Boyden. 

Voices of Recovery will continue to offer services through Zoom and over the phone during the duration of social distancing orders, and is considering maintaining telehealth access permanently. Meetings are held once every Monday and twice every Tuesday and Thursday. 

As for the response to treatment access, Thompson says the overall feeling is gratitude.

“I think most people are grateful we’re providing services and have somewhere to go for recovery. They’re grateful they can get treatment, and support even if it’s not in person,” said Thompson. 

Visit vorsmc.org for more information on services offered through Voices of Recovery. You can also visit smchealth.org for more information on services offered countywide.