A new campaign in New Haven County is seeking to increase the number of people seeking treatment for opioid misuse disorders.
It’s called End Stigma CT and is backed by a $10 million federal grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Stigma can lead to social isolation and prevent people from seeking treatment for a substance use disorder, according to the 2024 Shatterproof Addiction Stigma Index (SASI).
Stigma can take many forms: ER staff showing a bias when assessing pain in patients with substance use disorders, or people with substance use disorders avoiding police in emergencies because they fear arrest.
And stigma is a reality playing out across the country, including New Haven County, said Maritza Bond, health commissioner for the city of New Haven.
“Last year we saw that one in five individuals, who needed treatment for a substance use disorder received it,” Bond said, citing national data. “We want to increase that number.”
The campaign’s theme “It Started With” seeks to educate the community about stigma’s impact on people seeking help and to build empathy around how drug use can start for many people.
The concept was created following research with people who shared their experiences with opioids after an injury, or to cope with emotional or mental trauma like losing a family member, a divorce, or post traumatic stress disorder.
“Research shows that stigma is one of the greatest obstacles people face when trying to seek help,” Austin Telfold, overdose prevention navigator, Naugatuck Valley Health District, said in a statement. “We want our community to understand that addiction is not a moral failure — it’s a health condition that deserves empathy, treatment, and hope.”
The grant money will be used to hire patient navigators to go into communities and talk about stigma.
In the Eastshore Health District, which includes Guilford, Madison, Branford, East Haven and North Branford, stigma could look like denying that substance use exists in wealthy communities, said Theresa Heier, a nurse with Eastshore.
But substance use is a problem in wealthier communities, too, she said.
“It's happening mostly in the home,” she said. “It's not exactly happening on the streets where they can see it.”
“Part of the stigma campaign, we go into the community and try to normalize that, yes, this is a chronic disorder, just like diabetes or heart disease or anything else,” Heier said.
The grant runs through 2028.
