State of Addiction: Confronting Indiana's Opioid Crisis

It is considered by many to be the single most important crisis facing the state of Indiana.
 
And for good reason.
 
Opioid addiction is a public health catastrophe. More than 1 in 20 people in Indiana — that's a staggering 286,000 Hoosiers — report having engaged in nonmedical use of opioid pain relievers. Even worse, the number of Hoosiers who have died from drug poisoning has increased 500 percent since 1999. More people now die in Indiana from drug poisoning than in car accidents. 

That said, discussing the problem merely in terms of public health does an injustice to just how pervasive and acute this problem is in our state.
 
Those in public safety — from emergency responders to police officers to public defenders and prosecutors — see precious time and resources sucked up by the epidemic. Employers see a vicious cycle in which they lose employees to addiction and then struggle to refill those positions because not enough would-be workers can pass drug tests. And the already overburdened foster care and child welfare systems are now further taxed by the ever-increasing number of children whose parents are either addicted, locked up or dead.

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 It is a massive problem — one that will require the efforts and attention of Hoosiers from virtually all walks of life and all corners of the state to solve.
 
Today, IndyStar is proud to announce its role in this effort. Beginning next Sunday, we start a yearlong commitment to bringing greater awareness to the problem of opioid dependency through a reporting project called “State of Addiction: Confronting Indiana's Opioid Crisis.” This effort is made possible, in great part, through the generous support of the nonprofit Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, Inc.
 
The foundation, which started in 1986,  supports endeavors that align with three focus areas: education, health and the vitality of Indianapolis. Its grant will help enable this ambitious statewide reporting effort. More than 20 journalists at IndyStar and also at our Indiana Network newspapers in Evansville, Lafayette, Muncie and Richmond will contribute to dozens of stories that will be featured in our print editions and at indystar.com.
 
It is our goal to not only raise awareness — about proper use and disposal of prescription painkillers, about how to prevent and identify addiction, about how to help loved ones who are struggling — but also dispel myths, break down stereotypes and stigmas and provide information essential for Hoosiers to take meaningful action.
 
In doing so, we will be telling the stories — painful, heartbreaking but also inspiring — of Hoosiers who could very well be your friends, coworkers, neighbors, family, children.
 
We hope you will join us in this important effort.

— Alvie Lindsay

Alvie Lindsay is the News and Investigations Director at IndyStar. He can be reached at (317) 444-6385 or alvie.lindsay@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alvielindsay

IndyStar’s “State of Addiction: Confronting Indiana's Opioid Crisis” series is made possible through the support of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, a nonprofit foundation working to advance the vitality of Indianapolis and the well-being of its people.