# @metrotimes on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C_NvxkVtw5n
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/79393133-metrotimes-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/051d3a7589.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-08-28T13:11:00.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Detroit Metro Times (@metrotimes) — https://gondola.cc/metrotimes

## Caption

On June 8, 2023, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) posted a message on social media saying that it had responded to an unusually high volume of calls reporting suicide attempts and overdoses in a 48-hour period. “Many people are facing great personal challenges and there is help available,” the post read.⁠
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Documents obtained by Metro Times through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that a single officer followed up on all of the overdose calls that weekend. Deputy Kyle Hayes of the crisis response unit visited each overdose victim the next day to see how they were feeling, and to offer referrals to support services. He took no action to investigate or arrest any of the people he came into contact with; he was there to keep them from dying and to nudge them toward recovery.⁠
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He also referred drug users to people like Paul Shankin — a recovering drug addict who now works to inspire others suffering from substance use disorder into finding their own pathway to recovery. He refers to himself as a “peer navigator.”⁠
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Shankin works at Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities, a prevention, harm reduction, and recovery support network in Oakland County with a goal to combat the increase in co-occurring mental health and substance use problems in the county. The organization also tackles post-overdose calls with its group of trained peer navigators, like Shankin.⁠
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“They got the support that’s literally being brought right to their front door,” says Shankin, “It’s pretty powerful.”⁠
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See link in bio to read our interview with Shankin.⁠

Photo: doug_coombe 
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#OaklandCounty #Detroit #MetroDetroit #Michigan #OpioidCrisis #NARCAN #OpioidAddiction #mentalhealth #healthcare #mentalillness

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## Credits

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## Tags

detroit, metrodetroit, oaklandcounty, opioidaddiction, michigan, healthcare, mentalillness, narcan, mentalhealth, opioidcrisis

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