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CHEYENNE, Wyo. — One takeaway people in drug recovery should cling to: There is hope. But Wyoming also needs more help.
That’s according to local experts, including a county commissioner, organization leaders and volunteers committed to uplifting individuals on the road to recovery. On Tuesday, these experts shared their perspectives on the state of drug recovery in southeast Wyoming, the barriers to those in recovery and the resources the community requires to adequately take care of its residents.
The panel discussion, hosted in Laramie County Public Library’s Cottonwood Room, was spearheaded by Cheyenne Ward III Councilmember Richard Johnson. The meeting is the second of Johnson’s ongoing series of public meetings focused on public safety, mental health and substance use. The first meeting, held in April, included voices from city and county law enforcement officials and the county coroner.
Amy Spieker, director of Cheyenne Regional Medical Center’s Community Health and Analysis Division, moderated Tuesday’s discussion. The following individuals comprised Tuesday’s speaker panel:
- Gunnar Malm, commissioner of Laramie County
- Lana Mahoney, executive director of Recover Wyoming, an organization that provides peer-support services to individuals recovering from substance use disorders
- Josephine Carlson, a local resident who has participated with Recover Wyoming and received peer-support training
- Sheena Hennig, a peer-support specialist
Not only did the speakers talk from a leadership and volunteer standpoint, but their discourse also came from experience. The four panelists spoke candidly about their personal struggles with either drugs, alcohol or mental health.
Barriers to recovery
Carlson, who has watched family members struggle with substance use, said stigma is an obstacle for those searching for recovery opportunities.
“I have not worked in a place where I’m very transparent about my experience … that it didn’t get weaponized,” Carlson said. “Erasing that stigma in general day-to-day is something that’s not targeted. And how do we do that? Transparency, discussion, disclosure, ownership, authenticity. … So while resources are important, I think discussion is also incredibly important — to normalize it.”
Malm said he has tried to champion transparency surrounding his experiences. The county official spoke candidly about his prior history of alcohol use and its detrimental impact on his health and quality of life. Owning this part of history and understanding it isn’t a “moral failing” and has been essential to his journey and public messaging, he said.
The commissioner added that though local resources exist to assist those climbing out of recovery — including Recover Wyoming and HealthWorks — there’s not enough.
“Unfortunately, some of our only avenues there to help people — they do a fantastic job — but it’s once they interact with law enforcement and enter into the court program,” Malm said.
Once individuals brush up against the law, that presents a new set of barriers, Malm added. Hennig, who is a peer-support specialist and a student in Casper College’s addiction studies program, concurred. She said enrolling at the college required jumping through hoops. She said to receive education or housing, she has to get letters of support from others.
“I get denied housing because I’m a felon,” Hennig said. “People get so exhausted with having to say, ‘Hey, I’m OK. I’m a person like you. I just had some trouble.’ … You still have to jump through hoops to see if you can get on a [community center] sliding fee scale. And I mean, there’s — for somebody in active addiction, these things are like massive walls. These are not just, you know, little burdens; they’re huge.”
Opioid settlement funding
At the beginning of 2024, a number of pharmaceutical corporations settled with local and state governments for their involvements in fueling the nationwide opioid crisis. Malm told Cap City News that Laramie County will receive a total of at least $1 million and upwards of $5 million throughout the next several decades. The Board of Commissioners may use the funds for opioid prevention purposes.
“I can assure you that the county is trying to take this responsibly and make it as impactful as possible,” Malm said during the panel discussion.
Several of the panelists suggested ways the settlement money can be used to help Laramie County residents over the coming years.
Carlson discussed the possibility of using the funds to make Narcan and fentanyl test strips more readily available. She and other panelists believe it’s pertinent to make these resources available in discreet, nonjudgmental settings that users can anonymously access. For instance, they posited that these products could be available in a community center not dissimilar to a walk-in food pantry.
Mahoney said Recover Wyoming, headquartered at 1017 E. Lincolnway, currently has around 500 doses of Narcan. Anyone at risk for of overdosing or who has a family member or friend with an opioid use disorder can pick up a kit, no strings attached.
Solutions and community needs
Mahoney, the Recover Wyoming director, said she endorses keeping an open mind to different recovery pathways.
“Not everyone will find recovery through treatment, not everyone will find recovery by attending a 12-step meeting,” Mahoney said. For instance, the director said she underwent a natural recovery through peer-support, a framework that Recover Wyoming follows. She added that the community needs to provide more services that encourage recovery through diverse means. Examples include employment opportunities, parenting classes, transportation options and housing accessibility.
Adverse childhood experiences increase people’s likelihood of falling into addiction as adults, according to Carlson. For instance, mental health issues and exposure to domestic violence or drug use as a child can increase a youth’s likelihood of struggling as they age, she stated. She said one of the gaps in Cheyenne is the lack of resources accessible to children for mental health services.
“If we don’t have enough for us, then we definitely don’t have enough for them,” Carlson said. She advocated for “humanizing the addict” and continuing to be open about discussions surrounding substance use and mental health. Ongoing conversations will encourage more people to be open about their own experiences without fear of judgment, she said.
In addition to advocating for easy access to resources like Narcan or test strips, Malm said the law has to be changed to reduce barriers to these life-saving commodities.
“That’s where you get into the political component of this whole discussion, and this whole change of thinking — that it’s not a moral failing,” Malm said. “You’re not assisting somebody breaking the law by doing these things. It’s compassionate to keep people alive. And so you have to change that at a legislative level, at a local governance level, at a community level.”
Spieker commented on Malm’s statements and elaborated that Wyoming has a state statute that hinders harm-reduction strategies.
Councilmember Johnson told Cap City News that a third public meeting is tentatively planned for late August. The meeting is set to focus on reactions and insights on drug use from the local faith-based community.
