Exceeding the Standards of Treatment
Since 2001, Len “LC” Collins has been the executive director of the Cleveland Treatment Center (CTC). He began his work in the medical field as a medical illustrator with the Cleveland Department of Public Health. His work alongside department leaders and attendance at community meetings gave him ideas of ways to better connect with parts of the community struggling with drug addiction, mental health, violence, gangs, and HIV. Collins began working to create messaging that was culturally relevant, specific, and sensitive to the various target groups. “I was later asked to be a health educator, and I started looking for opportunities to give drug counseling and treatment less of a negative connotation among the public.”
We have to be culturally competent. We have to produce inclusive programs, not just for minorities, but of others also so all people have access to quality health and life experiences. Collins says changing perspectives and methods around education related to drug misuse and the negative misconceptions about MAT is a significant way to address the opioid epidemic and promote prevention. A program designed to discuss prevention methods may unintentionally create curiosity in its audience. “Some programs will talk about the different types of opioids and where they’re commonly distributed. Clients may also learn about what it takes to get high on those drugs and what those highs can feel like. After receiving that information, someone may go out seeking those dealers or sources of fentanyl and the high they’ve learned it can bring.” Collins says the CTC works to educate their clients not only on the realities and detrimental effects of addiction but also on the possibilities that arise from change and recovery. “Programs shouldn’t just be focused on teaching people how not to get high, but they should also be teaching them how to live.” been a marked increase in deaths in the African American population due to fentanyl being added to cocaine.
Changing Perspectives
Now as the CTC’s executive director, Collins is responsible for managing the organization’s daily operations. The center is the first fully accredited service provider in Northeast Ohio by the Commission on Accreditation on Rehabilitation of Facilities as an opioid treatment program. Through its medication-assisted treatment (MAT), the program serves more than 500 individuals. Since just before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Collins says there has been a significant uptick in overdose cases in Cleveland and surrounding areas. “There have been more people who have died in the last two years than in the previous 18. He says the common link is fentanyl, as increasing amounts of drugs are laced with the synthetic opioid. According to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office, there has
- LC Collins
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