Fairbanks police team up with local agencies to help opiate users

FAIRBANKS — Heroin is a pressing health concern in Alaska, and the Fairbanks Police Department is teaming with local organizations to help users break free from addiction. 

Dubbed the Golden Heart Access to Treatment Initiative, people struggling with addiction can talk to police about their addiction and be referred to resources such as Turning Point Counseling Services for help. 

“In recent years, the heroin issue has become a major concern. We have some folks who don’t want help and some who do,” patrol officer Doug Welborn said. “I’ll be happy to talk to them and figure out what their needs are and get them on the path to recovery.”

Which agency a person is referred to will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Welborn said it depends on the severity of the addiction. 

“We understand that the people on these substances may have concerns if they talk to us. It’s not a crime to be a user of heroin,” Welborn said. “But we don’t want people driving to the station on heroin. Have a friend bring you (if you’re high). Take a taxi cab ride. Don’t have any drugs on you. My goal is to talk to them, not arrest them. We want to get them to the appropriate agency and help them out.”

Welborn said if a person is still uncomfortable speaking with him face-to-face, he can be reached at 450-6555. Or, a pamphlet about drug addiction can be picked up inside the first set of doors at the police station at 911 Cushman St. Welborn is in his office from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

Welborn said police will not need extra funds to carry out the initiative. He said he will include working on the initiative in his daily duties. 

Anna Nelson, the executive director of the Interior Aids Association, says this program is a huge step for this community in fighting drug addiction. She hopes the Golden Heart Access to Treatment Initiative will also change the perception of addiction so that people won’t be so embarrassed to seek help. 

“Anybody who thinks this isn’t a big problem is fooling themselves,” Nelson said. “The mix of drugs in the association’s needle exchange has shifted from cocaine, meth, heroin, pills, to mostly heroin, and heroin is cheap.”

Nelson said the Interior Aids Association exchanges about 60,000 needles a year and encourages people to use clean needles from the exchange. 

“While they’re waiting to find help ,they can stay away from diseases from which they can’t recover, like HIV and hepatitis C,” Nelson said.

Data collected by the state of Alaska shows that heroin deaths more than tripled from 2008 to 2013 and that heroin-related arrests increased 140 percent from 2009 to 2013. Fairbanks has had an alarming number of heroin related arrests in 2016.

“We need to change the way we view addiction and, where appropriate, move from it being a criminal justice issue to a public health issue,” Mayor John Eberhart said in a city news release. “People should be getting the help they need with treatment.”

Gunnar Ebbeson, a licensed master addiction counselor at Turning Point Counseling Services who is working with police on this initiative, could not be reached for comment.