Fentanyl has been involved in more than 6,500 overdose fatalities in Cuyahoga County since 2014, either by itself or when mixed with cocaine or heroin, according to data from the medical examiner’s office.
Fentanyl test strips are an important tool in the fight against overdose deaths. A study released last year by Case Western Reserve University and Cuyahoga County found that 75% of people who died from overdoses in the county between 2016 and 2020 were alone when they were using drugs. Fentanyl was involved in more than 70% of those deaths.
Ashley Rosser is the harm reduction education coordinator at Thrive For Change, which offers judgment-free support and resources for people using drugs. She spoke with Signal Cleveland about the organization’s work and why it’s personal for her.
Can you talk about your role as harm reduction education coordinator at Thrive for Change?
I deal with everything that has to do with education within harm reduction. I talk about drug education, drug safety and the risks that come with using drugs. I teach people and organizations how to minimize risks and how to be Narcan distributors themselves. [Narcan is a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of opiods.]
What type of organizations and businesses have you been able to offer education to?
We do a lot of community outreach. We do multiple pop-ups around the City of Cleveland. We’ve worked with gas stations, churches, clothing stores, and we’ve also visited local encampments and worked with people who are houseless. We want to make sure that no matter where folks go, someone will be equipped to not only recognize when someone overdoses, but what to do if someone overdoses.
No matter what our backgrounds are or what field we work in, this is a community problem that deserves a community solution.
Video by Jeff Haynes/Signal Cleveland
In your bio, you shared that you have dealt with substance use issues in the past. Is that something that motivated you to spread awareness and get involved in harm reduction work?
Definitely. I was pretty angry and frustrated when I found out Narcan existed and was a thing. When I was using drugs, that wasn’t offered to me as an option. I was just always told drug use was bad and that I should stop. I found out a couple years into my recovery that harm reduction existed. Times where I was struggling really bad, I needed healthcare and other basic connections.
If Narcan was offered as an option back then, it probably would have saved a lot of my friends that I lost to substance use. I think having access to that would have prevented a lot of harm from happening in general. I can’t go back in time, but I can take action to prevent more harm from happening to other people.
Since Thrive for Change has been offering the test strips, are you seeing evidence that they’ve saved lives?
Absolutely. There is such a vast relationship that people can have with drugs. There are people who are more casual drug users and people who are using multiple times a day. In my work, I see that no matter where people are on the spectrum, the test strips can be helpful.
I’ve met people who use the strips to confirm what they are using is fentanyl because now there are more dangerous substances out there like xylazine, which is a tranquilizer used on animals. So some people are avoiding laced drugs altogether while others on the more extreme end are using them to make sure they are not going any further than fentanyl.
How can people get fentanyl test strips?
They can stop by our office [11002 Detroit Ave., Cleveland], have them mailed out or they can come to one of our monthly pop-up events where we distribute them. They are free.
What words can you offer for someone who may be too ashamed or embarrassed to ask for help?
People are not alone in their experiences. There are options available to help you. It’s just a matter of the different resources, it’s just a matter of being willing to step outside of our comfort zone to try something new that could potentially change our lives. Nothing changes if we don’t make changes.