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Center Point DAAC and the uphill fight to bring addiction treatment out of the abyss Keeping Recovery From Rock Bottom
Inside
40 Pulling treatment from the abyss 42 Lives in the balance
44 Going to the MAT 45 Vehicle for change
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Pulling treatment from the abyss I t’s challenging enough getting a person afflicted by addiction into recovery just once. Kai Denis, of Santa Rosa treatment nonprofit Center Point DAAC, will never forget the man who came back again and again. And again. The man was on parole and enrolled in the By Jason Walsh
With addiction at a crisis point, Center Point DAAC looks to take its recovery model statewide
reaching the people we should—and not getting them into treatment fast enough.” Geiger is the interim regional vice president at Center Point DAAC (Drug Abuse Alternatives Center and Center Point, Inc. entered into a management agreement in 2012) which, along with a host of diversion and outpatient services, runs the residential Dr. Sushma D. Taylor Recovery Center. The $7.6 million facility celebrates its year anniversary in operation in Santa Rosa this fall. DAAC was founded in Santa Rosa in 1969, when
addict on an eventual career path toward social justice and working in recovery. “[Addiction] led to a really interesting career,” says Geiger. Geiger has experienced substance abuse and treatment from all sides—as an addict, as a person rehabilitating and as a leader for recovery programs—and it’s given him perspective on the necessary facets for effective treatment. And he believes Center Point DAAC has honed its operations into a model that works.
recovery center’s intensive outpatient program, recalls Denis, DAAC’s (Drug Abuse Alternatives Center) current director of medication assisted treatment, who was the man’s counselor at the
time. Disillusioned by a lack of employment, money and prospects, he would place Denis on the receiving end of his loud frustrations— angrily vowing to give up his recovery efforts and be sent back to prison, which would be “easier than doing all this.” Despite his initial dedication to the program, within a few months the man suffered a relapse. But he pulled himself together, re- enrolled in the program and graduated. Six months later, he suffered another relapse. But, again, he re-enrolled in treatment—this time in DAAC’s residential program. By then, the man was so familiar with the program, “he could
High-quality, low cost “Nowhere else in Northern California are you going to find a MAT [medication assisted treatment] detox with this level of care that takes people on Medi-Cal,” Geiger says about Center Point DAAC and the medically managed withdrawal process at the heart of many of its treatment regimes. In other words, Geiger believes addiction treatment can and should hold up to that shopworn business maxim: Great service, at an affordable price.
Members of the DAAC team, from left: Alisha Pepper, Sara Glashan, Chris Geiger, David Buelle, Kai Denis, Dr. Kristin Kolbinksi and Dr. Marie Mulligan. [Duncan Garrett Photography]
He not only sees it as a system for improving recovery
almost run the place himself,” says Denis. The staff was invested in his success and held him to a high standard, while newer DAAC clients looked to him as a role model. After nearly three years of struggle to overcome the grip of addiction, this time his recovery stuck. “It was significant,” Denis says of that success story. Because not all people who need treatment are as determined to make treatment work. “He was aware that [DAAC’s] resources were out there [for his own benefit]—he knew he had no excuse not to use it.” Today, the man has a “pretty decent paying” job in the transportation industry, says Denis. Unfortunately, not every user is as committed to climbing their way out of addiction—and delivering the message about what recovery centers such as Center Point DAAC have to offer is a critical priority for the nonprofit. ‘We’re not reaching the people we should’ “We’re trying to address a statewide problem,” says Chris Geiger, of Center Point DAAC. “We’re not
drug abuse was growing in the area and effective treatment and recovery services were rare. It was a time and place very familiar to Geiger, who grew up in Sonoma Valley and battled drug problems of his own as a teen. “Around that whole period free love and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll was happening and I dove headlong into it,” recalls Geiger. His father, an orthopedic surgeon, had befriended “gonzo” journalist Hunter S. Thompson, who at the time was living with his young family in Glen Ellen. In fact, says Geiger, “the first time I ever got high with anybody” was with the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas author (who had dedicated the book to Geiger’s father, Robert). “That whole scene was pro drug, so I was kind of set up in a way to be a drug addict,” Geiger says. By the time he was 18, Geiger was addicted to heroin and committing various forms of theft to support his habit. Encounters with law enforcement led to treatment in the Walden House program in San Francisco which, once clean, hired Geiger to help with special projects—taking the former
outcomes, but as a model other treatment centers throughout California could follow. “Our approach to doing treatment has been to provide what would otherwise be provided at high-end treatment programs—think Betty Ford,” says Geiger. “But for people who are low income.” Geiger cites DAAC’s withdrawal-management programs as being “as good as any in the state,” supported by 24-hour nursing staff, an addiction- certified medical director and an addiction-certified physician serving as the onsite director. He says DAAC approaches treatment from a holistic standpoint, with a menu of services including evaluation for anxiety and depression, blood/lab work and assessment of physical health. If there’s a level of care needed that DAAC doesn’t offer, they’ll refer patients to the necessary medical provider. “It makes us unique in anything else you’re going to find in Northern California,” he says. David Panush is president of California Health Policy Strategies, a Sacramento-based consulting firm shaping policies to improve the state health- care system. He’s worked with Center Point DAAC
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The Dr. Sushma D. Taylor Recovery Center celebrates its 1-year anniversary this fall 2025. [Duncan Garrett Photography]
on honing its treatment approach and views it as “part of what the system could be.” He juxtaposes the way traditional recovery treatment works versus other serious health conditions. “If you went to an emergency room for a heart attack, you’d expect to have follow-up care,” says Panush. “[The medical team] would find out what’s going on, have a treatment regime for you, and they would track that.” But if someone goes to an emergency department with an overdose, he points out, there’s rarely adequate managed care after they’re discharged. “If two-thirds of people coming into an emergency department with an overdose are not getting follow up, that needs addressing,” says Panush. “No other disease sees this kind of lack of follow-up care.” Adds Panush: “[Center Point DAAC] is not only addressing this from a communication standpoint but is actually bringing people together—they’re developing the relationships so you can have follow-up care, or [preventative] so people don’t wind up in the emergency room to begin with.” One of those relationships is with Sonoma County Behavioral Health Services, which oversees contracts for the various programs partnered with the county—and Center Point DAAC is among its largest contractors. When users seek admittance to DAAC’s residential program, the state requires county authorization within 24 hours, a tight window subject to bureaucratic delays. Will Gayowski, program manager at Sonoma County Behavioral Health Services, says they’ve worked with DAAC to streamline the admittance process and recent averages have been under 24 hours. Gayowski describes the county’s work with DAAC as “long and fruitful,” and that “in terms of value of service and quality it’s probably the best it’s been in years.” Gayowski credits DAAC’s growth to its ability to attract “higher quality employees.” “DAAC has a really strong partnership with our federally qualified health centers, so they get good MDs,” says Gayowski. “They’ve built up their medical model and are having a more medically directed and supported withdrawal experience that’s safer and more effective.”
into treatment. Once DAAC establishes its data of improved treatment outcomes, they can convert that model to counties similarly situated to Sonoma—such as Fresno, another medium-sized county surrounded by rural counties. Geiger's plan involves working through Partnership Health Plan’s network of agencies to replicate the changes being implemented at DAAC. Through greater collaboration between agencies that interface with clients, Geiger hopes to establish stronger referral relationships making it easier to identify the barriers keeping addicts from treatment and develop plans to remove them. 'The stakes are higher' Meanwhile, the synthetic opioid crisis continues to claim lives. An estimated 7,137 people died from a fentanyl overdose in California in 2023, according to the California Department of Public Health. While the 2024 fentanyl-related deaths were down to just under 5,000 statewide, health experts are cautious to assume the tide has turned on the opioid epidemic, says Dr. Kristin Kolbinski, clinical director at Center Point DAAC. For instance, she says, a certain amount of fentanyl-related deaths may have been replaced by those from other emerging drugs like kratom. If anything, the opioid crisis is becoming more urgent. “We need to reach [addicts] on multiple levels, by any means necessary,” says Geiger. From his formative years doping up with Hunter S. Thompson to a sober adulthood helping stem the damage of addiction, Geiger has been around drug abuse disorders nearly his entire life. But with the lethality of opioids today, “the stakes are so much higher,” he says. “We’re taking our family members, those people on the corners, those people we don’t want to talk about—and turning their lives around.” And if we can’t reach those people in time? Says Geiger: "Assume that they’re going to go out and kill themselves.” n
The Medi-Cal question Client safety is the “lens” through which DAAC views its mission, says Geiger. “The decisions we make need to be client oriented—for the client’s recovery and safety.” But that lens could become foggier in 2026 when changes to federal spending on health care go into effect. More than $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid spending are expected over the next 10 years, according to data from the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the recent legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Those cuts will trickle down to such state programs as Medi-Cal, potentially making it challenging for Center Point DAAC to sustain the high level of care that makes its programs successful. “We’ll need to have a plan to address that,” says Geiger. Meanwhile, at the top of DAAC’s priorities is public outreach—to let people know their services are available, far and wide. “The more information we can bring, the better,” says Denis. There’s misinformation about “the fear of withdrawal— how bad it’s going to be—which could be enough to scare people away from taking the first step.” But medication-assisted treatment mitigates all that, he says, and “there are a lot of people who are simply not aware.” Establishing a network Beyond Sonoma County, DAAC has an agreement with Partnership Health Plan of California—a nonprofit which networks with local providers such as DAAC to administer Medi-Cal benefits—to take client referrals from seven Northern California counties. It’s part of DAAC’s vision to address addiction from a statewide perspective; the nonprofit is working under the theory that many of the bureaucratic problems in recovery stem from local agencies working in silos, not as part of a broader network with the same goals. “We want our marketing efforts to reach people so they can raise their hand and say, ‘I’m ready for help,’” says Geiger. DAAC’s goal, he says, is to raise its baseline number of clients, while tracking and improving the timeframe for getting them
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Lives in the balance
Getting users into treatment is the crucial step toward recovery
M elvy Ramos made a call about a dozen years ago that changed her life—personally and professionally. The North Bay woman reached out to Center Point DAAC (Drug Abuse Alternatives Center) when she hit what she bills as her “rock bottom.” Ramos, 38, became both a patient and eventually an employee for the Santa Rosa nonprofit that focuses on offering comprehensive and compassionate treatment for substance abuse and addiction. That’s how much she believes in the mission of the center established in 1969 by a Sonoma County group concerned about the growth in drug abuse and led by Dr. Sushma Taylor. Drug addiction for Ramos started at 16 years old. “I remember it like yesterday. I was cutting classes and ended up in the woods [of Marin County],” she says. When someone whipped out a pipe and asked her to try it, she obliged. “It was all fun and games,” she says, adding her drug of choice was methamphetamine. Her mother didn’t suspect she had a problem because she was an honor roll student, and Ramos demonstrated she had energy. By Sue Wood
not what I envisioned for a career,” she says. “I’m a new person.” Reaching those who need help Center Point DAAC Interim Regional Vice President
“She was surprised the house was so clean,” Ramos says. But her drug use followed her into adulthood. The single mother of two lost nearly everything around 2012. Precious belongings dating back to her childhood were wiped away from a storage unit “in the blink of an eye.” She was also evicted from the hotel room she was living in, and says her roommate “tricked her” into signing over her car to the supposed “friend.” She was caught in a downward spiral. Facing the harsh reality of living on the streets, Ramos knew the situation would be devastating to her family. Despite her addiction, Ramos still had some fight in her. She maintained a job, so she felt somewhat functional. But she spent much of her money on drugs. “I didn’t think I had a problem,” she says. “It was like I was living two separate lives.” Something had to change. One of the managers at the Chipotle where she worked was a graduate of Center Point DAAC and suggested she consider the nonprofit’s treatment programs, saying the company would support her efforts. “I let them know my truth,” she says of her employer. And she entered into treatment at DAAC with the notion the life-altering experience would be short-lived. “I thought
Chris Geiger has not only heard the Ramos story before, he has lived it. His drug use also started when he was a teenager. Geiger highlights the common connection between homelessness and drug abuse. “It’s been a big problem. With the psychiatric hospital closures [in the 1980s], those people ended up on the streets,” he says. The Center Point DAAC chief views clients as being on a spectrum of denial as to whether they have an addiction problem. “They could drink too much but have no DUI,” he says, as an example. Despite a recent uptick in meth use, the dominant culprit of drug abuse today remains fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid. The problem with the substance approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for pain relief is it’s 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more than heroin, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “You can put it on a tip of a pencil, and it can kill you,” Geiger says. The problem is accentuated when other drugs are “cut” with fentanyl, meaning the latter blends in. Geiger cites the fatal case last February of Santa Rosa high school girls who allegedly bought a substance they believed was cocaine but was laced with fentanyl. Geiger says the public proliferation of Narcan— a medication to reverse opioid overdoses—has helped stem many near-fatal Melvy Ramos, outpatient program manager for women and children services.
I was going to be there only 30 days.” It turned into a way of life. Her sobriety has lasted 12 years, and she now works at Center Point DAAC as an outpatient program manager for women and children services. “This is
Nurse Manager Sara Glashan. [Duncan Garrett Photography]
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The Dr. Sushma D. Taylor Recovery Center, at 790 Sonoma Ave. in Santa Rosa, is the newest facility in DAAC’s $12 million annual operation. [Duncan Garrett Photography]
They include: • examination. •
encounters. And the word of the nasal spray is quickly catching on. He cites a recent example of a man who ran into Center Point’s facility to get Narcan when his friend appeared to be suffering from an overdose and he saw the facility’s sign. “That literally saved this guy’s life,” Geiger says. Challenges ahead Center Point DAAC’s “census,” as in its client and patient population, stands at about 400 people, consisting of residents under treatment. The bulk of those who use the service are considered “outpatient” clients. Operating as the management company with a $12 million annual budget and three locations, DAAC provides an assortment of substance disorder treatment services.
The verdict is out on how proposed Medicaid cuts will play out since the current federal budget calls for reductions starting next year. U.S. Senate Democrats cite cuts to Medicaid as the reason they didn’t vote for a resolution to fund the federal government, resulting in a shutdown that began Oct. 1. “There’s a concern we could lose funding. But we’re unsure how those cuts are going to manifest,” Geiger says. If anything, pressures on the industry as a whole have already mounted in the lack of intake staff, he points out. This results in longer wait times to get those seeking recovery into treatment as well as more red tape getting staff up to par, after passing the screening, credentialing and training processes. “It could take a couple of months,” Geiger says. Still, Geiger and his staff of 85 remain committed to the cause. The interim director envisions expanding Center Point DAAC’s programs while accelerating service delivery, advocating for “treatment on demand” to better meet the needs of a transient and often homeless population always on the move. Treatment works best when access is immediate, he says. “When people can get help the same day they ask for it, we save lives, rebuild families and strengthen entire communities.” n Learn more at cpdaac.org
Assessment and evaluation as an initial
Outpatient programs that allow the user to come and go from their daily activities. • Residential, which at a more intensive level of treatment, houses the client in a more structured environment with 10 beds available. • Detox—Withdrawal Management: A specialized 10-bed unit offering round- the-clock nursing and physician care with medication-assisted detox services to ensure a safe and supportive start to recovery. • Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) that combines medications with counseling and behavioral therapies to promote long- term recovery. • Counseling and therapy, whether individual or group, makes for an integral part of recovery. • Family support, which integrates
family members into the healing process. The combined organization (Center Point and DAAC entered into a management agreement in 2012) receives 90% of its funding from Medicaid and Medi-Cal, along with services to federal offenders and some private pay accounts.
The 10-bed residential program offers a structured recovery environment. [Duncan Garrett Photography]
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Going to the MAT Why recovery programs like Center Point DAAC champion medication-assisted treatment By Sue Wood W ith substance use growing, North Bay health officials and managers with treatment services want to provide a shot in the arm to combat the prevents cravings • Naltrexone, an antagonist that blocks the euphoric and sedative effects of opioids and may be prescribed outside an opioid treatment program A typical length of time for remedies
problem. That’s why medication-assisted treatment (MAT) has become a potential solution for helping users recover from drug addiction. MAT uses medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies to treat the disorder. It involves either prescription or illicit opioids, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The need is there. In fiscal year 2024-25 ending June 30, the rate of people receiving substance use disorder treatment in Sonoma County increased by over 33% to 2,119. But that may be only part of the picture, says Will Gayowski of the Sonoma County Department of Health Services—because the uptick in treatment could be down to variety of factors. “There are more treatment options available since Sonoma County became a drug Medi-Cal- organized delivery system [last December],” says Gayowski, a Sonoma County substance use disorder and community recovery services section manager. “So it is impossible to say how much of this increase is due to worsening drug problems in the community versus increased access to and payment for treatment services.” MAT-endorsed medications work to reduce the cravings and the euphoria associated with experiencing opioids. Some medications have also been found to decrease the risk of overdose, the CDC reports. Common MAT therapies include: • Methadone, a full agonist that reacts in a similar manner to other opioids such as heroin, morphine or fentanyl
ranges from months to years—with long-term treatment recommended to prevent relapses. Still, not all treatment systems employ MAT methods. Established groups such as Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous (AA or NA), for instance, have long believed successful recovery means a user refrain from replacing one substance for another. “That’s the biggest barrier, overcoming that stigma,” Gayowski says. “But the evidence has been there for ages. Methadone has been saving lives for 50 years. The average Joe needs to know more about it. But the effectiveness is so profound, California requires us to have a MAT policy.” As technology rapidly improves brain and body research, advances arise. For example, Gayowski highlights a new drug, Brixadi, which is an injectable prescription medicine given once monthly or weekly to lower opioid addiction— whether moderate or severe. By comparison, methadone is doled out daily. “Part of my job is to expand options,” he says. Whether through block grants or legal settlements, Sonoma County is putting substantial funding behind the growing problem of addiction. For one, plans are underway for the construction of a $7 million drug rehabilitation center awarded by the state to the county. The county also contracts with the nonprofit Center Point DAAC to provide drug treatment services for low-income residents. Currently, three modalities exist to receive substance use disorder treatment: Local clinics such as West County Health Centers; physician offices compliant with the practice; and drug treatment programs like Center Point DAAC, which offers a MAT program. Treatments such as MAT and attitudes toward substance use have come a long way through the years. MAT’s been around for decades, says Tama McKibbin, Center Point DAAC substance use disorder counselor. Methadone, for instance, was developed by a German pharmaceutical company in the 1930s; its use in addiction treatment was pioneered by American doctors in the 1960s. Kai Denis, director of the MAT program at
DAAC, says several medications can be effective in medically managed withdrawal regimens, including people suffering from alcohol addiction. The key is that it can mitigate the cravings, he says. McKibbin, who’s worked in the industry for 16 years, concedes that in some circles using medication to cure drug use still comes with uncertainty. But those views are changing as evidence of its effectiveness grows. McKibbin notes several occasions in which she has “run into clients” who have gone through the program while she’s out in public. “I’ve seen them out and about at the grocery store, and they’ll check in with me,” she says. “It’s rewarding.” The insurance industry is also slowly coming around to accept contemporary methods of treating substance abuse. The Affordable Care Act requires most insurers to cover treatment for substance use disorder. Plus, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 mandates health insurers and group health plans provide benefits for behavioral health services at the same level as primary care. However, insurers may not cover all types of treatment for substance-use disorder, the CDC in coordination with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health indicates. At last count, the CDC reported 54,743 opioid- involved overdose fatalities in 2024—with more Americans dying from ODs than motor vehicle crashes. To learn more about MAT treatment, visit cpdaac.org/medication-assisted-treatment . n Methadone has been used in addiction treatment for more than 60 years.
but at a much slower pace in the body—thus reducing the euphoric highs and lows • Buprenorphine, a partial agonist that lacks the full effects of other semi-synthetic opioids in the same class, but it’s long-acting, works slowly and
Kai Denis, director of DAAC’s MAT program.
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Vehicle for change Through free safety products and mobile emergency units, Center Point DAAC is bringing life-saving opioid treatment to those in crisis By Rosie Padilla C hris Geiger was driving to work at Center Point DAAC’s addiction- treatment headquarters in Santa Rosa when an ambulance zoomed past and turned down the street
toward the recovery center. Suspecting a client may be in crisis, Geiger arrived to find EMTs already at the scene in a parking lot across from the center treating a man for a fentanyl-induced emergency. According to DAAC employees, the man and a friend had been nearby taking opioids when the friend suffered a potentially fatal overdose. Knowing DAAC provides free life-saving Narcan, the man sprinted across the lot to the recovery center, which administered the medication known to reverse the effects of a fentanyl overdose. Geiger, the interim regional vice president at Center Point DAAC, was relieved—foremost for their saving the man’s life, but also to know that DAAC’s reputation as a space for life- saving drug treatment came through in such a critical moment, a kind of crisis seen all-too frequently in recent years in the North Bay. According to county data released in August, an average of 12 people die of drug overdose each month in Sonoma County. Statewide, there were 486 drug overdose deaths in June alone—with 231 of those being a direct result of fentanyl, according to the California Department of Public Health.
The MAT mobile van has been in operation since spring 2025.
Counties are responsible for notifying local recovery centers, as well as the general public, when they identify notable drug-related warning statistics. And in the first two weeks of June this year there were twice the number of overdoses than are normally reported. According to Geiger, this stat might indicate the presence of fentanyl on the streets with a higher-than-typical potency, or it is being mixed with other drugs unbeknownst to the user. County data shows that although overdose death rates for men and women fell to 22.4 per 100,000 residents between 2022 and 2024, the numbers remain higher than before the pandemic and nearly match averages across the state, which has seen an overall increase in fentanyl deaths of 900% since 2018. The report highlights the Russian River area as the local region hardest hit by opioid overdoses, and notes that people experiencing homelessness represent roughly 10% of all OD deaths, despite making up only about 1% of the county’s population. Geiger, who struggled through addiction and recovery prior to his career working on behalf of treatment centers, says the Monte Rio area has long been a hotbed of illicit drug use. Even
during his period of addiction years ago, he recalls hanging out at a spot known locally as “Heroin Hill.” In August, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved $5 million in opioid settlement funds for substance use disorder projects, awarding 10% to DAAC to expand its Wellness on Wheels (WOW) program—a mobile unit for bringing life-saving treatment to those without means of transportation to DAAC’s Santa Rosa treatment center. This van delivers health and safety products to rural areas of the community including food, water, hygiene products and STD prevention items. Beyond the WOW vehicle, Center Point DAAC also has a mobile care clinic, which provides medication-assisted treatment (MAT), a withdrawal management regimen. Helmed by Alisha Pepper, a psychiatric nurse practioner, and Dr. Marie Mulligan, an addiction-certified physician, this mobile unit will soon provide items such as safe needles and Narcan. Introduced in March, the MAT mobile unit will expand access to potentially life-saving treatment to individuals across Sonoma County no matter their location or circumstances— particularly important in treating opioid emergencies, which are often concentrated in
Chris Geiger, interim regional vice president at Center Point DAAC
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N arcan is the brand antagonist,” a medication administered when an individual is suffering from an opioid overdose. Typical signs of an overdose may include unresponsiveness, slow or shallow breathing, a weak or absent pulse, constricted (“pinpoint”) pupils, pale or name for Naloxone, a widely used “opioid bluish skin tone and choking or gurgling sounds. Immediately call 911 if you suspect someone is experiencing an overdose and then administer the Narcan Nasal Spray. To use Narcan Nasal Spray, place your thumb on the bottom of the plunger and your fingers on either side of the nozzle. Tilt the person’s head back, insert the nozzle into one nostril, and press firmly to release the dose. Afterward, turn them onto their side to prevent choking and give a second dose in the other nostril if there’s no response within a few minutes. Stay with the person and wait for emergency services— Narcan’s effects may wear off within 30 to 90 minutes, and symptoms can return. Narcan: The spray that could save a life
Alisha Pepper, a psychiatric nurse practicioner, and Dr. Marie Mulligan, in the MAT mobile unit.
rural areas with underserved populations. Kai Denis, director of MAT services at DAAC, says the new mobile unit run by Dr. Marie Mulligan will be crucial for reaching those on the outskirts. “To be able to travel out to rural areas and remote parts of the community to bring information and harm reduction services to people who don’t have access is vital,” says Denis. To further combat the increasing rates of fentanyl overdoses, DAAC also offers free Fentanyl Testing Strips. Fentanyl cannot be detected by sight, smell or taste and the synthetic opioid is often mixed with drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine or heroin to increase the potency at a lower cost. The Center Point DAAC website, cpdaac.org, has a page on how the public can access the Fentanyl Test Strips, as well as how to use them to detect whether drugs are laced with fentanyl. Meanwhile, Narcan is the brand name for Naloxone, a widely used “opioid antagonist,” a medication administered when an individual is suffering from an opioid overdose—like the man Geiger witnessed on his arrival to DAAC that recent morning. As the EMT told Geiger at
the scene, the Center Point DAAC staff’s quick application of Narcan “probably saved this guy’s life.” Through a combination of modes of outreach—from administrative networking to word-of-mouth communication to connecting with distant communities via the mobile units—the DAAC team hopes to slowly stem the rise of opioids in the North Bay and beyond. As Denis says: “We want to help [those] who struggle with opioid addiction to regain their lives—to overcome that driving need. “To establish a normal routine and get back to functioning normally. To have a normal healthy life.” n
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