By Elizabeth Bonin, Staff Writer

(July 16, 2020) Although health experts have been saying more people might turn to alcohol or illicit drugs as a result of stress from the covid-19 crisis, Worcester County addiction services report that program participants are still on track overall.

Collen Wareing, a board member of the Atlantic Club and Worcester Warriors, said the Atlantic Club never closed as it was designated as an essential service.

“We needed to have someone available so that someone didn’t relapse or if there was someone looking for help, that there was someone to be there,” Wareing said.

Any employee or program participant had to wear a mask inside the building and undergo a temperature check. Anyone entering the building also went through a screening to make sure they weren’t at high-risk for covid-19. The number of people allowed in the building was also limited.

Wareing said she couldn’t tell if more people were struggling with addiction since most of the meetings are conducted via Zoom. She added that the biggest obstacle to sobriety during the pandemic is socialization.

“They might be sober, but they emotionally and spiritually need to address things and that takes contact with people,” Wareing said. “That has been much harder with the epidemic [pandemic]. And to add to that, there’s stressors if they’re unemployed, they can’t see their family, they can’t hug the people they love. It’s emotionally trying on all of us, let alone someone who is struggling with the disease of addiction.”

She said the Atlantic Club regulars have been tremendously supportive of each other.

“People have made sure that they’ve called others that might be isolated, who might not be computer literate, to be able to get on a Zoom meeting,” Wareing said. “They’ve made sure they’ve taken care of each other.”

She said she was looking forward to an in-person event held last Sunday to honor those who kept the club open 24 hours a day, as well as the Walk for Recovery on Sept. 12, which will have a virtual option.

Tish Ottey, founder of Hope4Recovery, a level II recovery house, said residents typically have their days filled with intensive outpatient counseling, Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous meetings and work.

PHOTO COURTESY TISH OTTEY
Hope4Recovery, a level II recovery house in Berlin, has tried to keep a steady schedule for residents as they battle addiction during the covid-19 pandemic.

“Structure and routine is huge, and what happened when covid hit and everybody was quarantine, it took that away,” Ottey said.

To stay busy, she said residents participated in projects such as a vegetable garden and celebrated a clean date party, both donated by Worcester Goes Purple.

“I know the recovery community has suffered a lot,” Ottey said. “We were lucky with relapses. It wasn’t too bad in the Berlin house.”

Although she didn’t know if more people are turning to substance abuse during the pandemic, Ottey said some thrive on stress, while others are pushed over the edge.

“Stress, when you couple it with mental illness and not being able to get those counseling visits and doctor’s appointments, it definitely shakes things up,” Ottey said.

She said that overall, the residents are doing well and are returning to normal, as more jobs are available in Ocean City and counseling meetings are starting to open.

Carla H., whose last name is omitted per Alcoholics Anonymous policy, said she couldn’t tell if more people were turning to substance abuse, since most meetings are still virtual, but she did say that in her Ocean City group, most were turning to more positive outlets, such as yoga on the beach.

“There are lots of other things to calm anxiety that you can do and I think people are seeking those out,” Carla said. “I think people are seeking each other. It’s just limited.”

Mike Trader, assistant director for Worcester County Health Department’s behavioral health program, said the department does worry about people turning to unhealthy stress management, but that there’s no good way to measure that right now.

“I think that’s going to a long-term effect of coivd,” Trader said. “Long-term, we’re going to see effects with folks with substance abuse and folks with mental health.”

He said the largest obstacle to treatment initially was the lack of access to inpatient treatment facilities at the start of the pandemic. Most have since reopened.

“Even as they’ve reopened their doors, they’ve been able to take in fewer people because of spacing,” Trader said. “It’s really cut into capacity at inpatient treatment facilities.”

Travis Brown, public information officer for the health department, said that it has been trying to encourage people to take advantage of the summer for healthy stress relief.

“Physical activity is one of the greatest things that anybody can do — go outside, get some endorphins going,” Brown said.

He said the health department has collaborated with other organizations to create various health videos, such as yoga and breathing exercises that are available on their website and social media.

Trader said he was surprised to see that many health department clients are generally managing the pandemic well.

“I wonder if this has been a little bit easier for them to manage and cope with because they’re a little more used to dealing with stressors than others might be,” Trader said.

Trader said a key component is to keep up to date with the state’s regulations with telehealth services, which could become a long-term treatment plan.

Substance abuse services can be contacted at:

Atlantic Club: 410-213-1007

Ocean City Alcoholics Anonymous: ocaa.org

Worcester County Health Department: 410-632-1100