LI Addiction Task Force Renamed To Address Pandemic Mental Health

SOUTHAMPTON, NY – The Southampton Town opioid addiction task force has a new name, meant to address mental health issues that spiked along with addiction during the pandemic.

The new name of the committee, according to Drew Scott, who serves on the committee — the longtime newsman signed on to fight addiction after he lost his granddaughter Hallie Rae Ulrich to a heroin overdose in 2017 — is the Addiction & Recovery Behavior Health Committee. The new name, he said, takes into account the impact of the pandemic and mental health on the substance abuse crisis.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 81,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in the 12 months ending in May 2020, the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period.

While overdose deaths were already increasing in the months preceding the coronavirus pandemic, those numbers suggested an acceleration of overdose deaths during the pandemic, the CDC said.

“The disruption to daily life due to the COVID-19 pandemic has hit those with substance use disorder hard,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield, M.D. “As we continue the fight to end this pandemic, it’s important to not lose sight of different groups being affected in other ways. We need to take care of people suffering from unintended consequences.”

Scott said he applauded the decision to rename the committee and said the group's co-chairs, Kym Laube, executive director of Human Growth and Understanding Seminars in Westhampton Beach, and Mark Epley, CEO of the Seafield Center in Westhampton Beach, have shared "troubling information" with the newly renamed committee, which includes 15 members.

"The report tells us there is more need than ever for assistance for substance abusers due to isolation in the two-year-long pandemic and the lack of most face-to-face psychological therapy," Scott said. "We really have our work cut out for us and the entire community to be aware of the dangers of addiction."

Laube said there is an increased need for mental health and substance use disorder services at a time when the workforce is depleted.

"Online meetings and telehealth worked for some during the shutdown, but for others, barriers were presented. For those who were introverted — they went deeper in. And those who struggle with anxiety found it amplified," she said.

Meaningful connection, routine, and in-person meetings are all important to those seeking help in the beginning of their recovery, Laube explained.

"The lack of that opportunity is just beginning to be felt by our field," Laube said.