Herointown

Revealing hidden communities using substance abuse data

How we got here

• Heroin appearing at purity levels of up to 90 percent
   
• Able to be snorted, smoked or injected
   
• Rx drugs have acted as a bridge, introducing a new generation to the drug

• At $5 a dose, it's cheaper than a pack of cigarettes

Impacts

• 6,000+ deaths since 2005
   
• Heroin/opioids now more than 50% of treatment patients in NJ
   
• 11,000+ Narcan deployments since 2014

What we know about today

• Heroin deaths in 2015 likely to eclipse 800 for first time
   
• Hep-C cases continue to climb
   
• Heroin/opioid admissions through July 9, up 22 percent

Heroin's ugly cousin: Fentanyl

• Up to 50 times more potent than street-level heroin.
   
• Simple to manufacture, easier to traffic than heroin.
   
• Can be ingested and absorbed through skin
   
• Often used as a lacing agent, but also appearing on its own more commonly

Treatment Issues

• Long waiting lists remain at state's residential facilities

• Committing a crime remains easiest way to guarantee treatment 

• Treatment beds for the poor/uninsured are disappearing

Data Sources

SAMHSA - Federal Treatment data; ER data

http://www.samhsa.gov/data/

State Data - NJME; NJSAMS; DMHAS; DoH

http://bit.ly/NJSAMS_Data

Rx Drug Data - Medicare Part D

https://projects.propublica.org/checkup/

CDC - Vital Statistics on overdoses

http://bit.ly/CDC_OD

Filling the Town

Know your data's limitations

Be honest with your readers about what you can and can't show

Demographics

• Population: At least 128,000, making it NJ's 4th largest city
   
• 28 percent growth in 10 years; 6X the state rate

• Rates of death, communicable disease and homelessness far exceed rest of state
   
• Increasingly white and young.

How do we populate this town? 

We ask the residents.

Data was the Vehicle

People were the Fuel

The Stories

The Stories

"Every time I relapse I have a different excuse"

- Jennifer, 31, Perth Amboy

"There is nowhere to go without thousands upon thousands of dollars"
- Ryan, 22, Plainfield

"I'm a suburban success story... No one at work knows my demons even though I'm high at work every day"
- Matt, 24,
East Caldwell

"It's a killer of many things, not just life."
- Amy, 32, Sayreville

"I was born on heroin, I could've fit into your hand."
- Janet, 29, North Bergen

"I'll never know what happened to him when I left for work that morning"
- Jennifer, 26, Beachwood

"Our obsession over his addiction has taken over our lives."
- Marc, 59, Howell

"I guess I'll never understand
- Anthony, 23, Parlin

The Dead

Crowdsourcing Art

Multiple Gateways

Broken up into clickable, shareable posts

Questions???

Stephen Stirling

@sstirling

sstirling@njadvancemedia.com

www.nj.com/herointown

This slideshow: 

http://slides.com/sstirling/deck-3