1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:03,600 Speaker 1: Dear listener, there are some four letter words that are 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: going to drop here, so be prepared. 3 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 2: We all grew up silent. 4 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 3: No. I call you mom, I call you mom, I 5 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:12,880 Speaker 3: call her. 6 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:18,080 Speaker 4: Mibi the right your fifty six year old Lupe Salasad 7 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 4: is raising her grandkids, Navea and Estrella in a small 8 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:24,840 Speaker 4: rural community in northern New Mexico. 9 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: It's called Chimayo. Look, I made you this little tiny book. 10 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: I made you a little zing A. 11 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 4: Little over three thousand people live in chi Mayo. They're 12 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:39,839 Speaker 4: almost ninety percent Latinos and Latinas. Nearly a quarter of 13 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 4: all of the residents are below the poverty line, which 14 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 4: is almost twice the national average, and almost half of 15 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 4: the kids in Chimayo live in poverty w l. Lupez 16 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 4: community is also in the throes of an intergenerational opioid epidemic. 17 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 4: Almost everyone in this rural community has been affected or 18 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 4: knows someone who's been affected by opioid abuse. Lupe lost 19 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,400 Speaker 4: two close family members to drug overdoses, and her son, 20 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 4: Fernando Navea and Istreya's father was introduced to heroin in 21 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 4: jail when he was just eighteen. 22 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 5: That was like a cell phone. 23 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 4: Fernando has been in and out of prison since then. 24 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:31,759 Speaker 4: The girl's mom also uses drugs. She eventually lost custody 25 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 4: of the kids, and that's when Lupe stepped in to 26 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,039 Speaker 4: raise them while also trying to help her son get 27 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 4: out of prison and overcome addiction. At the same time, 28 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 4: Lupe has big plans not just for hers, but for 29 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 4: all of the families of Chimayo. 30 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 5: In every family, if they're blessed and fortunate, there is 31 00:01:54,720 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 5: a matriarch, how you say it, the mama, and she 32 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:00,800 Speaker 5: she's the hub. 33 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: She's the hub. It's not the grandpa, it's the grandma. 34 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 4: From Futuro Media and PRX, It's Latino Usa, I'm Maria 35 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 4: Nohosa Today a story about a tight knit rural community 36 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 4: that's been fractured by the opioid epidemic and one woman's 37 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 4: efforts to heal it. Chi Mayo is tucked in the 38 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:37,600 Speaker 4: Sangreri Cristo Mountains, which run along the southern edge of 39 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 4: the Rockies. Chi Mayo is situated in one of the 40 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,519 Speaker 4: poorest regions of New Mexico, in one of the poorest 41 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 4: states in the nation. In this rural community, the opioid 42 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 4: epidemic has been going on for far longer than when 43 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 4: it was declared a national emergency in twenty seven seventeen. 44 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 4: The trauma of loss, poverty, and drug abuse has been 45 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:10,279 Speaker 4: inherited generation after generation. Drug abuse has had a pervasive 46 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 4: impact in this rule Latino and Latina community, tearing families 47 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 4: apart and often creating a caregiving void when it comes 48 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 4: to looking after the youngest ones. But Lupe Alasadre is 49 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 4: trying to do something about this, moving away from the 50 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:33,240 Speaker 4: shame and the tough love that's been commonly used to 51 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 4: address drug abuse. She's instead addressing trauma communally and providing 52 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 4: a space to heal. Reporter Julius Slaffani brings us the 53 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 4: story of how Juan Abuela decided to lead this innovative 54 00:03:52,880 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 4: change and support other grandparents just like her. 55 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 6: It's a hot, bright August day and Chimayo. A line 56 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 6: of cars winds around Badiosnitos, a community center that was 57 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,640 Speaker 6: once in elementary school, right in the center of the village. 58 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 6: Outside the building, volunteers sort and pack boxes with bread, potatoes, 59 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 6: orange juice, oat milk, cans of soup, and chickpeas, split peas. 60 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 6: Whatever was donated that week potato. 61 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 1: Flakes and three packages of the base stew. 62 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 6: Loupe founded Badiosnitos five years ago to take care of 63 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 6: families like hers that have been affected by addiction. They 64 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 6: offer support services and host a wide range of therapeutic 65 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:45,279 Speaker 6: and social programs tailored to the specific needs of this community. 66 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 6: And today, like every other Monday, she greets every driver 67 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 6: as they pull up to her tent. She knows many 68 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 6: by name and asks about their families. While volunteers load 69 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 6: boxes into back seats and trunks the boat number, Loupe 70 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:02,039 Speaker 6: takes down their information and tells them about what's going 71 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 6: on at the center. Were Saturday count you can hear 72 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 6: her grandkids playing in the back. 73 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:07,919 Speaker 1: Let me let me get my calendar. 74 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,239 Speaker 5: On Sunday, we're having no pancakes here at the Bodyo 75 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:14,040 Speaker 5: and it just drives so you don't even have to 76 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 5: get down, bring your mama with you. And then on 77 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,239 Speaker 5: this day, on the twenty eighth, we're having a documentary 78 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 5: premiere of the Chicano Revolt. And this is like pre Vietnam, 79 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 5: so I'm hoping that maybe it'll bring some lightest why 80 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 5: we have so much addiction here in the valley. 81 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 6: Chimayo has been regarded as a sacred site for centuries. 82 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 6: The Tiwa Pulo Indians, who've inhabited the Chimayo Valley since 83 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 6: the twelfth century, pries its hot springs for their healing powers. 84 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 6: In the sixteenth century, Spaniards arrived with the mission of 85 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 6: christianizing the indigenous people. When Mexico arrived in the nineteenth century, 86 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,799 Speaker 6: land was seized and men were jailed. The indigenous communities 87 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 6: resisted both invasions and led revoltst the occupiers. This history 88 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 6: of struggle set off a cascade of poverty and dispossession. Today, 89 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 6: the northern part of the state faces an aging population 90 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 6: and lacks well paying jobs. The poverty rate is over 91 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 6: twenty two percent, almost double the national average. Chimayo is 92 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 6: located in the Espanola Valley, and this region has long 93 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:28,720 Speaker 6: been a national epicenter of opioid deaths. In twenty nineteen, 94 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 6: the county saw a rate of near the eighty four 95 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:34,720 Speaker 6: overdose deaths per one hundred thousand people. That's over three 96 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,359 Speaker 6: times the rate in the state of New Mexico and 97 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 6: nearly four times the national rate. New Mexico was designated 98 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 6: a high intensity drug trafficking area by the Drug Enforcement 99 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 6: Administration in nineteen ninety and the Espanola Valley is situated 100 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 6: on a route used to move drugs north into the country. 101 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 6: It became a destination for black tar, heroin, and methinmphetamine. 102 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 6: The region is bad opioid addiction for generations. In the 103 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 6: early two thousands, soon after opioid overdoses started to rise 104 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 6: in the US, Rio Riva County, where the majority of 105 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 6: c MIO is situated, had one of the highest rates 106 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 6: of overdose deaths, mostly feeled by heroin. 107 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 5: So those are like two really important things. And then 108 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 5: of course the calendar of the events. 109 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,120 Speaker 1: We're open every day. There's something going. 110 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 5: On every day. Yes, we have the stone polishing. Look 111 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 5: they made me these earrings and the necklace. 112 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 6: On any given week, Body of s Amulos offers all 113 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 6: kinds of support her residents of c MIO and neighboring villages. 114 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 6: This is Lupe again, the organization's founder. 115 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 5: We have green house therapy. We have Tamascal that's a 116 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:51,239 Speaker 5: sweat lodge ceremony. We have our labyrinth that we built. 117 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 5: So there's a lot of uh, you know, prayer. We 118 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 5: do a lot of essential oils, homeopathic remedies. Once a 119 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 5: month we have outreach. I do my best to have 120 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:06,360 Speaker 5: an event just to remind community that we're here. That's 121 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 5: been like the most important part is to have community 122 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 5: know that we're here. You know, we don't have the answer, 123 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 5: but we have someone here to just be. 124 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 6: At Badios Andos. Most of the volunteers, like Lupe are grandparents. 125 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 6: Many of them, like Ramon Martinez, are also raising young 126 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 6: kids whose parents are absent or incarcerated due to opioid use. 127 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 4: It's pretty heavy because there's a lot of drugs here. 128 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 6: Ramona is a volunteer here at Badios today. He's helping 129 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 6: pack food boxes. 130 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: You know, the kids. 131 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 3: I don't know what it is. 132 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 1: This is holy land and there's a lot of drugs. 133 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:55,319 Speaker 5: Vio Ao and the grandparents have to take care of 134 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 5: the grandkids. 135 00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 6: Right down the street from Badios is the Santoidio the Gimi. 136 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:03,320 Speaker 6: It's a nineteenth century Catholic chapel that's been called the 137 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,520 Speaker 6: Lord of America and it draws hundreds of thousands of 138 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:09,440 Speaker 6: pilgrims every year to visit, pray and touch the healing 139 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 6: dirt where the hot springs used to be. Yet, despite 140 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 6: this powerful history. Many local families like a Ramones and 141 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 6: Loupees are struggling. 142 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 5: Please share, join us on Sunday, don't forget, We'll see 143 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 5: you later. They're almost done. 144 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 6: Thank you you too for Loupe. Doing this work is 145 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:31,200 Speaker 6: necessary but not easy, let alone on top of raising 146 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 6: two young. 147 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 5: Girls, parenting the second time around is kicked me in 148 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 5: the ass. 149 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 6: Lupe's granddaughters, Novea and Estrea, who goes by the nickname Star, 150 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 6: came to live with her six years ago. Lupe San 151 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:47,600 Speaker 6: Fernando was in prison and the kid's mother, who's no 152 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 6: longer with her son, was actively using drugs. 153 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:54,959 Speaker 3: When I was only six years old, my mom ended 154 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 3: up having Star. 155 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 6: This is Navea, she's thirteen years old. 156 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 3: And it's like my mom was up partying, drinking, going 157 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 3: out with her boyfriend, doing bad things, and I was 158 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,440 Speaker 3: always home alone. And my mom right away wanted me 159 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 3: to take care of my little sister, so I had to, 160 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:14,040 Speaker 3: Like always, I was basically a mom at a young age. 161 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 3: Only at six years old taking care of like a 162 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,040 Speaker 3: newborn baby. That was very hard for me to do 163 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:19,679 Speaker 3: because like I was only six, so I didn't know 164 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 3: what to do. 165 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:25,719 Speaker 6: Eventually, lu Bay became the caregiver for both girls, and 166 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,800 Speaker 6: even though home life with their mom was chaotic, being 167 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,199 Speaker 6: separated was traumatizing. For a year with Neva, I. 168 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 3: Just stay home crying like day and night, like I 169 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,440 Speaker 3: would go for days just crying and crying because I 170 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 3: wanted to go home with my mom. 171 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 6: The situation wasn't any less painful for Loupe. 172 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:48,600 Speaker 5: I saw my granddaughter crying for her mom that didn't 173 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:54,320 Speaker 5: come back, and how she felt so inadequate, alone, unwanted. 174 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:00,960 Speaker 6: From where Lupe stood, things seem to be getting worse 175 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:04,840 Speaker 6: for kids like her grandchildren, and she was right. The 176 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:08,600 Speaker 6: rate of grandchildren being raised by grandparents has steadily increased 177 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 6: over the last thirty years, both here in New Mexico 178 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:16,439 Speaker 6: and across the US. Between nineteen ninety and twenty fifteen, 179 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:19,479 Speaker 6: the number of kids in New Mexico living with grandparents 180 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 6: has increased by over eighty percent. As of twenty fifteen, 181 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 6: about one in nine kids here is being cared for 182 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:27,839 Speaker 6: by a grandparent. 183 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,319 Speaker 5: How can we work together? How can community come together 184 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 5: so that these children don't struggle like that? 185 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:45,560 Speaker 4: Coming up on Latino USA, Lupe's community is struggling with 186 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 4: addiction and poverty, and it becomes clear that treating drug 187 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,880 Speaker 4: use with jail time is making matters worse. 188 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:56,599 Speaker 1: So Lupa decides to try. 189 00:11:56,400 --> 00:12:02,480 Speaker 4: Something completely different, going to university to learn about addiction, trauma, 190 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 4: and healing in order to create a new kind of 191 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 4: support system for her community. Stay with us, not say yes, hey, 192 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:56,280 Speaker 4: we're back. Before the break, we met Lupe Alasad. She's 193 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,840 Speaker 4: a grandma trying to help her family and her rule 194 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:04,120 Speaker 4: community of Chimayo heal from the opioid epidemic. As the 195 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:08,560 Speaker 4: effects of addiction hit really close to home, She's found 196 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:12,400 Speaker 4: herself determined to find out why drugs have taken such 197 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:17,200 Speaker 4: a stronghold in her community. Here's Julius Gliffani again with 198 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 4: the story. 199 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:23,720 Speaker 6: Lupe's been on the front lines of the opioid epidemic 200 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 6: in northern New Mexico for the last two decades. Her 201 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:29,679 Speaker 6: thirty six year old son, Fernando, has been using heroin 202 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:32,440 Speaker 6: half of his life, and she's spent the last six 203 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 6: years helping other people in her community handle the fall 204 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:40,720 Speaker 6: out from addiction. While heroin isn't new to Northern New Mexico, 205 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,720 Speaker 6: the overdose crisis has gotten worse in recent years. As 206 00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 6: both legal and illegal opioid use exploded across the US, 207 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 6: and even if heroin was around when Lupe was a kid, 208 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 6: she didn't realize. 209 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 5: Never in my wildest dreams did I think that addiction 210 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:01,719 Speaker 5: would ever be a part of my life. 211 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 6: Catholic faith had and still has a heavy influence in 212 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,560 Speaker 6: northern New Mexico, so drug use was basically seen as 213 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 6: a moral failing, treated as a sin, and kept out 214 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:16,079 Speaker 6: of sight, and that culture of shame went beyond drugs. 215 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 6: Lupe first became a mother at sixteen. At nine months pregnant, 216 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 6: Lupey knew she'd be raising this baby alone, with the 217 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 6: father being out of the picture. 218 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:30,240 Speaker 5: I was washing the kitchen floor on my hands and 219 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 5: knees because I wanted to make my mom happy, you know, 220 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 5: the shame that I had brought to her because I 221 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 5: was pregnant. So I remember on my hands and knees 222 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:46,680 Speaker 5: washing the floor and that night being sick. But I 223 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 5: didn't know what that meant because I'd never had a baby. 224 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 6: When it was time for Lupe to have her baby, 225 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:55,920 Speaker 6: instead of taking her to the local hospital, her mother 226 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 6: drove her over ninety miles away to see a midwife. 227 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:03,440 Speaker 5: They didn't want me around people. I guess they're at 228 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,560 Speaker 5: a hospital or anything like that, and I remember being 229 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 5: scared and alone. 230 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 6: After a few days of labor, it was clear there 231 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 6: were complications and she was sent to the hospital. 232 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 5: And at five minutes till midnight on a Tuesday evening, 233 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,280 Speaker 5: Fernando was born. He weighed seven and a half pounds, 234 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:31,760 Speaker 5: He was twenty one and a half inches long, and 235 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 5: it was amazing, It was really amazing. 236 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 6: Luby returned to high school and thanks to the encouragement 237 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 6: of a guidance counselor, she earned her diploma. 238 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:46,840 Speaker 5: Fernanda stayed home when I went to my graduation. I 239 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:49,320 Speaker 5: drove myself and then I came back home and it 240 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 5: was like except a bitter, sad moment, you know what 241 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 5: I mean. I reached my goal, but it was like 242 00:15:57,360 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 5: there was no one to celebrate with. 243 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:07,560 Speaker 6: Fernanda was an energetic child. 244 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:12,680 Speaker 5: He would like to sing and dance. He was so 245 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:14,280 Speaker 5: full of energy. 246 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,680 Speaker 6: Fernando loved the outdoors at Loupe's parents' home. He grew 247 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:22,600 Speaker 6: up around goats and chickens. Lupe remembers he enjoyed school 248 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 6: and taking things apart and putting them back together. 249 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:27,720 Speaker 5: He was very mechanically inclined. 250 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:31,440 Speaker 6: At twenty three and with two kids, Lupe married her 251 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 6: partner Gerald. Family life was hard. Lupey worked whatever jobs 252 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 6: she could find in Espanola, the biggest city near Chimayo, 253 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,760 Speaker 6: at gas stations, fast food restaurants, convenience stores, and as 254 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 6: a bank teller, and during this time, her kids lived 255 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 6: with her parents an hour away. When Fernanda was a teenager, 256 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 6: Lupey says he began to party with relatives. 257 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 5: My dad would drink, so Fernando would drink, and my 258 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 5: brother would drink, and it was just like this very 259 00:16:57,520 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 5: dysfunctional place. 260 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 6: That's when Lupe says Fernando had his first run in 261 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 6: with the police. 262 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:12,439 Speaker 5: There were times where the police would find them and 263 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:16,360 Speaker 5: beat the hell out of them, and because they were juveniles, 264 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:18,280 Speaker 5: he would just call my mom to pick them up. 265 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,080 Speaker 6: When Fernando was eighteen, a family friend asked him to 266 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:24,440 Speaker 6: do some work on a jeep and Fernando was paid 267 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 6: an alcohol. Later that day, he was pulled over and 268 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:31,040 Speaker 6: arrested for a DWI. It landed him in jail. When 269 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,200 Speaker 6: Lupe says, he spent weeks awaiting a hearing. 270 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:38,879 Speaker 5: My son went to jail because of the DWI, and 271 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:40,399 Speaker 5: he came out a heroin at it. 272 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:49,960 Speaker 6: The arrest was Fernando's first interaction with the criminal justice system, 273 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 6: and it would shape the next twenty years of his life. 274 00:17:53,359 --> 00:17:55,520 Speaker 6: In prison, Fernando kept a journal. 275 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,399 Speaker 5: So he journaled everything the time he woke up the 276 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 5: guard them out to a smoke cigarette, what they had 277 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:06,359 Speaker 5: for breakfast in detail, like and it was bacon and 278 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:11,720 Speaker 5: sausage and eggs and homemade tartillas and and then it stops. 279 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 5: And so years later I asked him, I told him, well, 280 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:19,719 Speaker 5: why did you stop journaling? And he tells me that 281 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 5: that's the day that they had brought the takato into 282 00:18:22,119 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 5: the in his cell. 283 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,679 Speaker 6: The gatto is a slang term for calling someone a 284 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:29,680 Speaker 6: heroin user, kind of like junkie. 285 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 5: And that was the day he started using. And he 286 00:18:34,359 --> 00:18:46,640 Speaker 5: just never went back to journaling. 287 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 7: That James Thummer of app and the dress Bernoso who 288 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 7: shouldn't appear in Telefonal Place. 289 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:54,639 Speaker 5: On the line. 290 00:18:55,200 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 6: Fernando has been in and out of prison consistently since 291 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,119 Speaker 6: he was eighteen. The charges of range from car theft 292 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:04,560 Speaker 6: and drug possession into assault. Even to this day, he's 293 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:09,320 Speaker 6: constantly in court on this particular day in July. Everyone 294 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:12,399 Speaker 6: is there except for Nondo. Someone forgot to submit a 295 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,240 Speaker 6: request to the jail to have Fernando appear for his hearing. 296 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 7: I don't see one for today's day, and hopefully they'll 297 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:31,120 Speaker 7: having appear without however, haunting a word from myself. Pursue injuries. 298 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 6: Unbelievable, Lupe remembers her son became withdrawn after being in jail. 299 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 6: He was emotionally shut off. He accepted plea deals and 300 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 6: criminal charges of driving while intoxicated, car theft, and robbery. 301 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:54,400 Speaker 6: In some cases, Lupe says, there wasn't substantial evidence against him, 302 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 6: but he did it just to get. 303 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,960 Speaker 5: Out because at that moment, in that place, in that space, 304 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:00,960 Speaker 5: they just want to be out of there. 305 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 6: He racked up felony convictions for things he did when 306 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:06,520 Speaker 6: he was either using drugs or trying to get money 307 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 6: to buy them. Here's Lupe again, speaking to a judge 308 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 6: at one of the hearings. 309 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:15,320 Speaker 5: So Fernando did his time. He got out with no plan, 310 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,080 Speaker 5: just like the many times before when he did County. 311 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,679 Speaker 5: He went back twenty eight days later and did another 312 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 5: year plus some so that he would not come out 313 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:28,359 Speaker 5: with paper. He did all that time, and your honor 314 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,639 Speaker 5: systems in place never gave him and others a chance. 315 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:35,800 Speaker 6: While New Mexico has led the country in progressive drug policies, 316 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 6: incarceration rates soared alongside the rising rate of opioid use 317 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 6: in the last twenty years. Just like the rest of 318 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 6: the country, police are making more arrests for drug related offenses. 319 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,080 Speaker 6: The longer Fernando stayed in jail, the harder things got 320 00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 6: for him. Lupe remembers early on, Fernando was ordered to 321 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:57,040 Speaker 6: a drug treatment program in San Diego, his first and 322 00:20:57,080 --> 00:20:58,120 Speaker 6: only time in treatment. 323 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,440 Speaker 5: The judge didn't give them the option. He told him 324 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 5: that he had to go, so therefore, I in turn 325 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:06,840 Speaker 5: had to figure out how to get the money to 326 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,800 Speaker 5: pay for the flight. I remember telling the Judd, you 327 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:12,359 Speaker 5: know that's part. You know, we don't even have family 328 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,600 Speaker 5: over there, and he said that that was what it 329 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:16,640 Speaker 5: was about, was that he was going to go over there, 330 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:18,480 Speaker 5: and that he was going to stay and he was 331 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:19,120 Speaker 5: going to learn. 332 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:22,280 Speaker 6: Lupe says the family didn't know much about the church 333 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:26,040 Speaker 6: based program, which only offered abstinence based treatment. 334 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 5: But over there, I mean Fernando picked up even worse habits. 335 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:31,960 Speaker 5: You know. 336 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:38,320 Speaker 6: Fernando didn't complete the program. The whole process left him 337 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,680 Speaker 6: and Lupe feeling even more dejected, and Fernando went right 338 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,199 Speaker 6: back to prison for violating the terms of his release. 339 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:50,280 Speaker 6: Staying involved in Fernando's court cases is emotionally exhausting for Lupe, 340 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,000 Speaker 6: but giving up it isn't an option for her. She's 341 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,880 Speaker 6: determined to advocate for access to drug treatment to help 342 00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:59,479 Speaker 6: keep him out of jail and address the underlying problem. 343 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 6: She realized this is what her son needs, not to 344 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 6: simply sit in jail, but it took Lupay some time 345 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 6: to get to that conclusion. At first, Lupe thought jail 346 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 6: time might get for none to see the consequences of 347 00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 6: his drug use and help him make better decisions, and 348 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:15,919 Speaker 6: the people around her agreed. 349 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:23,720 Speaker 5: I had a lot of individuals that I feel didn't 350 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:28,800 Speaker 5: understand addiction at all, and it was easier to tell me, 351 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 5: you have to let your son hit rock bottom. Until 352 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:35,240 Speaker 5: he hits rock bottom, he's not going to understand. But 353 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:40,119 Speaker 5: I didn't realize looking back now, rock bottom to me 354 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:43,040 Speaker 5: is dead and you don't come back from death. And 355 00:22:43,119 --> 00:22:45,239 Speaker 5: so the many times that they told me, you know, 356 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 5: leave him in jail, that's the best place for him 357 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:53,600 Speaker 5: to be. That was false. The worst thing that I 358 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 5: could have done is left my son in jail. 359 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:59,160 Speaker 6: The process of Lupe feeling helpless and confused. 360 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:03,200 Speaker 5: Misconception was you go to jail, you pay back your 361 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:05,960 Speaker 5: debt to society, and you come out a productive citizen. 362 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:12,440 Speaker 5: And that's not what Raryba County was producing. See, that 363 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:17,760 Speaker 5: kid walking down the street was my blood, you know. 364 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 5: And for me to argue with him is one thing, 365 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,439 Speaker 5: but for community to look down upon him, it was 366 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:29,360 Speaker 5: something that I wasn't going to tolerate. 367 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,480 Speaker 6: In many ways, the Catholic Church's strong influence in the 368 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:45,919 Speaker 6: community underpins the silence around addiction, and. 369 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:50,160 Speaker 8: I was always so frustrated that the priest never talked 370 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:51,199 Speaker 8: about what was going on. 371 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,640 Speaker 6: This is Angela Garcia, author of the pastoral Clinic Addiction 372 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 6: and Dispossession along the Rio Grande over a decade ago 373 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:02,880 Speaker 6: and studying the effects of stigma and trauma on substance 374 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:04,160 Speaker 6: abuse in northern New Mexico. 375 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,320 Speaker 8: I think because it's just it is so stigmatized and 376 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:12,400 Speaker 8: it's considered a sin, you know, and so it would 377 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:15,359 Speaker 8: lessen the stigma so much if the leaders of the 378 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:17,639 Speaker 8: community were really taking this on. 379 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 6: Angela is a professor at Stanford University, but she's from Espanola, 380 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:23,680 Speaker 6: originally right next toch my own. 381 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 8: I was in grad school and I started getting news 382 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:30,360 Speaker 8: from back home in New Mexico of people that had 383 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 8: died of overdose, including my aunt who was a heroin addict. 384 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:38,720 Speaker 6: In twenty ten, Angela moved back home and spent a 385 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 6: year working in a residential treatment center. While doing her 386 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 6: research on addiction, she was looking for the root causes 387 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 6: of drug abuse and realized they run very deep. 388 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:51,600 Speaker 8: A lot of people said, specifically, this is caused by colonialism. 389 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:55,399 Speaker 6: When she'd ask people about their drug use, many times 390 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 6: she'd hear stories about the pain of losing their family's property. 391 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 8: This used to be my family he's home. Oh, this 392 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:03,880 Speaker 8: used to be my family's land. We had to sell 393 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 8: it because of economic issues. And sometimes this loss was 394 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:12,439 Speaker 8: you know, two three generations behind, but the memory of 395 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:13,879 Speaker 8: it was still very much alive. 396 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:19,240 Speaker 6: Angela began to notice a trend. These stories and the 397 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:23,760 Speaker 6: trauma stemming from them were passed down through intergenerational households, 398 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 6: and the culture of using drugs to cope with poverty 399 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:30,680 Speaker 6: and loss was passed down too. To cope further. Sometimes 400 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,679 Speaker 6: family members supply drugs for others to stave off the 401 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:35,160 Speaker 6: painful symptoms of withdrawal. 402 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:41,680 Speaker 8: And that's really where that gesture of giving heroin or 403 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 8: xanax or something to take away some of the discomfort 404 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 8: comes from. Is this desire to not see somebody suffer. 405 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,800 Speaker 8: And it's complicated because really you're caught in this cycle. 406 00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:56,320 Speaker 8: And one of the words that people talk to me 407 00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:02,040 Speaker 8: and used was this idea of mihithoitis meaning nihito my child. 408 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,679 Speaker 8: And this is very typical, particularly with the history of drugs. 409 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 8: There's a lot of blame that's put on mothers, almost 410 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:11,199 Speaker 8: like a codependency, but it's very specific to the region. 411 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,119 Speaker 6: Lupe wasn't buying Fernando drugs, but she didn't know how 412 00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 6: to support him. Lupey knew there were dozens of a 413 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 6: witness just like her, desperate to keep their children alive 414 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:25,280 Speaker 6: in trying to no avail to advocate for their families. 415 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,159 Speaker 6: There weren't community health workers or social programs nearby to 416 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 6: help disrupt the cycle of intergenerational trauma and addiction, and 417 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:35,200 Speaker 6: she was desperate to learn how to make people take 418 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,160 Speaker 6: her community struggles seriously. 419 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:44,280 Speaker 5: And if we can't help get to the core, to 420 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:46,639 Speaker 5: the root of the problem, we're always going to be 421 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:47,600 Speaker 5: a sick community. 422 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:49,760 Speaker 1: But we don't see it that way. 423 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,240 Speaker 6: In two thousand and seven, at forty years old, Looping 424 00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:00,640 Speaker 6: enrolled at the nearby nor Their new Mexas Go College 425 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 6: to study integrative health sciences. 426 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 5: This drug came into my community and grabbed these individuals, 427 00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:10,320 Speaker 5: and they were mostly male at that time. How they 428 00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:11,879 Speaker 5: grabbed them by the balls and didn't it go? 429 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:13,560 Speaker 1: What was it? 430 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 5: Why? 431 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:17,320 Speaker 1: Why were we struggling? 432 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:20,000 Speaker 6: She's one of the only members of her family to 433 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:23,400 Speaker 6: graduate high school, let alone and roll in college. 434 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:25,200 Speaker 1: And that was my saving grace. 435 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:28,479 Speaker 6: Being on track to get her bachelor's degree gave her 436 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,080 Speaker 6: some sense of hope, even if some of her classmates 437 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 6: got a kick out of the fact that there was 438 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 6: an Aboila among them, and she sometimes felt out of place. 439 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:39,680 Speaker 5: I did at the front of the classroom purposely because 440 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:45,880 Speaker 5: if I knew who was snickering when I was talking, ugh, 441 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:48,560 Speaker 5: So I didn't want to know, you know, I wouldn't 442 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:50,200 Speaker 5: turn around, I would stay focused. 443 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:51,240 Speaker 1: I would look to the front. 444 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,399 Speaker 6: For years, Lupe thought Fernanda was to blame for his 445 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:57,200 Speaker 6: drug use, but now she saw that the problem was 446 00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:58,200 Speaker 6: much bigger than that. 447 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,679 Speaker 5: He didn't get there on his own. Community had a 448 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 5: lot to do with it, the peoper empower had a 449 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:07,560 Speaker 5: lot to do with it, and not just with my son, 450 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:10,760 Speaker 5: with so many in community and so many people that 451 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:11,280 Speaker 5: have died. 452 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:18,560 Speaker 6: And it wasn't just her community. This was a problem 453 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:20,159 Speaker 6: in American society at large. 454 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 2: Addiction substance use disorders were considered moral failings right, criminal problems, 455 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 2: certainly not illnesses. 456 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:31,920 Speaker 6: This is doctor Snaejabat. He's an addiction psychiatrist. He's also 457 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,840 Speaker 6: the medical director of the University of New Mexico's addiction 458 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:36,200 Speaker 6: and substance abuse programs. 459 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,600 Speaker 2: Treatment for substance use disorders really grew out of the 460 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 2: temperance movement, and abstinence right was really the goal. 461 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 6: The temperance movement was a social movement against drinking alcohol 462 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 6: that started in the nineteenth century and that advocates for 463 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 6: complete abstinence. It has Christian roots and became very powerful 464 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:57,720 Speaker 6: in the beginning of the twentieth century, leading to the 465 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:00,880 Speaker 6: Prohibition era in the US that last from nineteen twenty 466 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:04,360 Speaker 6: to nineteen thirty three. This is how ingrained abstinence culture 467 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:07,959 Speaker 6: is in our society. Doctor Bot works with communities across 468 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,600 Speaker 6: New Mexico and most of his clients are of Latino 469 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:13,840 Speaker 6: or Indigenous descent. He runs a clinic in Albuquerque that 470 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:17,600 Speaker 6: integrates addiction medicine and psychiatry into primary care with a 471 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:21,520 Speaker 6: focus on culturally sensitive practices. The goal to get people 472 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:25,160 Speaker 6: healthier by addressing substance abuse like any other chronic health condition, 473 00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 6: especially in places where the stigma of drug use is 474 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:31,680 Speaker 6: costing people their lives. For a long time, the vast 475 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 6: majority of treatment options were pretty one size fits all, 476 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 6: and many revolved around complete abstinence from drugs. But studies 477 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,000 Speaker 6: show that this approach doesn't work for the vast majority 478 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:44,840 Speaker 6: of people, especially for those who use opioids. 479 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 2: Conservatively, eighty percent, even of two one hundred percent wind 480 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:52,960 Speaker 2: up returning to using illicit opioids within a period of 481 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,240 Speaker 2: several months without ongoing medications. 482 00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:02,240 Speaker 6: A focus on abstinence reinforces a stigma of substance abuse 483 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 6: as a personal failing, as being weak, rather than as 484 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:06,640 Speaker 6: a treatable condition. 485 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,320 Speaker 2: Pot says, it hasn't been about treating an illness. It's 486 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:14,200 Speaker 2: been about how to sort of be morally intact, or 487 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,960 Speaker 2: how to not be a criminal, and so abstinence has 488 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:18,920 Speaker 2: taken this center point, and I think a lot of 489 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:20,880 Speaker 2: stigma frankly revolves around it. 490 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:25,600 Speaker 6: Studies show that medication treatments like methadone and beprinorphine are 491 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:29,920 Speaker 6: very effective at treating drug addiction. They block cravings, prevent 492 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:34,400 Speaker 6: withdraw symptoms, and drastically reduce the risk of overdose. Despite 493 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:37,600 Speaker 6: their effectiveness, there's a lingering stigma that medication treatment is 494 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 6: simply replacing one dependency for another, but the fact is 495 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,560 Speaker 6: they are proven safe and help people. 496 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,000 Speaker 2: Stabilize their lives. I think an added barrier is the 497 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,960 Speaker 2: stigma of methadone clinics. Right, people know if you're going 498 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,239 Speaker 2: to a methadone clinic why you're there, and substance use 499 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:55,680 Speaker 2: disorders are just so stigmatized. Then there's the added layer 500 00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:59,160 Speaker 2: of stigma or shame that may come from families and 501 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:02,800 Speaker 2: all those things that been interrinalized. So there's also shame, 502 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:04,960 Speaker 2: and studies have shown this that people who have that 503 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:08,120 Speaker 2: internalized sigma are less likely to seek out treatment, and 504 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 2: if they do seek out treatment, they're less likely to 505 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:11,080 Speaker 2: say in treatment. 506 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:13,800 Speaker 6: But while doctors in New Mexico are working to make 507 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:17,440 Speaker 6: medication treatment more accessible. The need for treatment is still 508 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 6: greater than what's available, and even when people do have access, 509 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,960 Speaker 6: there are financial and logistical barriers that can prevent people 510 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:24,920 Speaker 6: from sticking to their. 511 00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:30,640 Speaker 2: Treatment, things like insurance regulations, payment for medications, more barriers. 512 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:36,160 Speaker 2: All these things stacked up really make it hard for 513 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:37,760 Speaker 2: our patients to access treatment. 514 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:45,440 Speaker 6: As Lupe studied, she began to realize that her community 515 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:48,640 Speaker 6: needed compassion and healing rather than the hard lessons they 516 00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:51,600 Speaker 6: were used to. In the approach that law enforcement in 517 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:55,240 Speaker 6: the church had been taking, promoting punishment, abstinence, and shame, 518 00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:57,720 Speaker 6: Lupe realized it was missing the mark. 519 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:02,920 Speaker 5: I found that there was a heroin paradigm, and if 520 00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:06,040 Speaker 5: we didn't shove these addicts into this little cookie cutter 521 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 5: and they didn't come out, well, then they didn't do 522 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:10,120 Speaker 5: it right. 523 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:11,760 Speaker 1: And it wasn't like that. 524 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:18,120 Speaker 5: It's everybody's unique, everybody's different, everybody's trauma's different, and if 525 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:20,680 Speaker 5: we don't acknowledge that, we're not going to see healing. 526 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:26,400 Speaker 5: So I came out with the different lens on the 527 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:30,360 Speaker 5: eye of my heart. But I knew since then that 528 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:38,440 Speaker 5: I would advocate for the unwanted, the unheard, the unseen, 529 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:44,600 Speaker 5: the left behind. You know, I had to because those 530 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:49,800 Speaker 5: left behind were my people. We had struggled with addiction 531 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 5: for decades. And you know, not until white women of 532 00:32:56,240 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 5: privilege started dropping like flies in other states did anyone 533 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:06,000 Speaker 5: give a ass about Northern New Mexico. And I'm sorry, 534 00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 5: and I hurt for these women and their families. But 535 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:12,480 Speaker 5: had that not happened, I feel that we would be 536 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:15,280 Speaker 5: struggling still in an even deeper way. 537 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:26,280 Speaker 6: Lupe attended Northern New Mexico College for seven years, sitting 538 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:29,280 Speaker 6: in the front of the class, taking every opportunity to 539 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 6: learn about addiction. Lupe left being there. College became her escape. 540 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:38,200 Speaker 5: There were days that all I could think of at 541 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,920 Speaker 5: home was I need to get to school because the 542 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:43,200 Speaker 5: addiction didn't. 543 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:50,440 Speaker 1: Stop coming up. 544 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:55,479 Speaker 4: On Latino, USA, drug overdose strikes Lupe's family, and she 545 00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:59,840 Speaker 4: tries a drastically different approach to help her community. Heal, 546 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:59,479 Speaker 4: stay with us, not stay right, Yes, hey, we're back. 547 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:05,120 Speaker 4: Before the break, Lupe realized the social systems in place 548 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:09,359 Speaker 4: to deal with drug abuse weren't doing enough to help 549 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:13,360 Speaker 4: her family or her community, so she enrolled in college 550 00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:17,600 Speaker 4: to learn about addiction and how to address it. Here's 551 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:19,400 Speaker 4: Julia again with the story. 552 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:24,680 Speaker 6: In twenty ten, the US entered the second wave of 553 00:35:24,719 --> 00:35:28,560 Speaker 6: a worsening opioid epidemic. This is when heroin became the 554 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:32,040 Speaker 6: leading cause of drug overdose deaths, mostly led by people 555 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:35,160 Speaker 6: who switched from prescription opioids to heroin when their prescriptions 556 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:38,880 Speaker 6: ran out or were reigned in, and despite her best efforts, 557 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:43,120 Speaker 6: Lupe couldn't shield her family from them. Around this time, 558 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:47,120 Speaker 6: when Lupe was still in school, her eighteen year old nephew, Manoel, 559 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:53,960 Speaker 6: died of a cocaine overdose. His death rocked the family, 560 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:59,360 Speaker 6: especially Lupe's younger sister, Audra. Manoel's mother, Audre had a 561 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:03,000 Speaker 6: history of drinking. Lupe says, when she lost her son, 562 00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:04,000 Speaker 6: it got worse. 563 00:36:04,719 --> 00:36:08,239 Speaker 5: One day, of course, she was drinking and she tells me, 564 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:11,200 Speaker 5: you know, if you can't beat them, join them. And 565 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:13,640 Speaker 5: she tells me, you know, if I'm gonna be buying heroin, 566 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:15,400 Speaker 5: I might as well use it too. 567 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:20,000 Speaker 6: At the time, Lupe remembers Andre working and buying heroin 568 00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:22,000 Speaker 6: for her then boyfriend. 569 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:24,600 Speaker 5: You know, I feel like really bad because I remember 570 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:28,440 Speaker 5: being so hard on her, because you know, she was 571 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:31,200 Speaker 5: a very educated young woman. You know, she was a 572 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:34,879 Speaker 5: year and a half younger than me, and she had 573 00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:38,840 Speaker 5: this amazing job, and she was always sharing with people, 574 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:42,040 Speaker 5: you know she worked at the labs, or her cute clearance, 575 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:44,319 Speaker 5: and how prestigious this was and how much money she 576 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:44,920 Speaker 5: was making. 577 00:36:45,719 --> 00:36:48,360 Speaker 6: But Adre would eventually lose that job where she was 578 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:51,840 Speaker 6: making twenty five dollars an hour as a secretary. Little 579 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:54,360 Speaker 6: by little, her substance abuse was taking everything. 580 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:58,759 Speaker 5: She became homeless and she would drink a lot, and 581 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:02,359 Speaker 5: it would make me mad because I would tell her, well, 582 00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:05,480 Speaker 5: you know, you know better. And so I think those 583 00:37:05,520 --> 00:37:08,840 Speaker 5: are like the regrets that I have, because I really 584 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:12,880 Speaker 5: felt like she would pull herself up, pull them bootsteps up. 585 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:16,000 Speaker 6: But Adra never got the chance. 586 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:22,200 Speaker 5: She overdosed. She overdosed them on many things. I know 587 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:26,760 Speaker 5: that they found some boxen, they found coke, they found heroin, 588 00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:28,480 Speaker 5: alcohol and pills. 589 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:39,040 Speaker 6: Lupe was completely devastated by her sister's death. 590 00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 5: And so there were many times where I just needed 591 00:37:42,719 --> 00:37:47,600 Speaker 5: to get to my classroom. I just needed to be 592 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:51,440 Speaker 5: by my instructor. Wives were so red because I had 593 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:54,759 Speaker 5: cried and cried and all I wanted to do was 594 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:58,319 Speaker 5: just sit under the desk and there were times where 595 00:37:58,360 --> 00:37:59,480 Speaker 5: I just did. 596 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:03,200 Speaker 6: Lupe knew her community needed to take a drastically different 597 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:05,160 Speaker 6: approach when it came to grappling with the effects of 598 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:09,400 Speaker 6: the opiate epidemic. Making people go it alone wasn't solving anything, 599 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:12,799 Speaker 6: it was making things worse. They needed to figure out 600 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:16,320 Speaker 6: a way to begin healing together. It became her life's 601 00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:18,239 Speaker 6: work and she poured herself into it. 602 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:21,200 Speaker 5: And that's what you hear a lot about in the community. 603 00:38:21,239 --> 00:38:23,200 Speaker 5: You know, they got to make that choice, you know 604 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:27,160 Speaker 5: it it's their decision. You know they're making these choices. No, 605 00:38:27,239 --> 00:38:30,480 Speaker 5: it's it's beyond that. It's deeper and we're family. 606 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:34,799 Speaker 6: But Lupey remained committed. It took her seven years to 607 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,320 Speaker 6: earn her bachelor's degree, all the while holding her family together. 608 00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:46,560 Speaker 3: My grandma and your grandma Faia. My grandma told your grandma, 609 00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:48,560 Speaker 3: I'm gonna set your flag on fire. 610 00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:52,560 Speaker 1: You talking about hey, now, hey yea, Now, I go. 611 00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:53,200 Speaker 3: I go on. 612 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:57,440 Speaker 6: Around that time, Putnando's daughters in, Nevea and Estraya came 613 00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:00,359 Speaker 6: to live with lupe just after Estraya turned too. 614 00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:01,920 Speaker 5: I go, I go. 615 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:05,600 Speaker 6: She's now eight years old and Nevea is thirteen and 616 00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:07,920 Speaker 6: Even though Fernando has spent so much of their lives 617 00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:10,560 Speaker 6: in jail, the kids have stayed really close with him. 618 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:13,279 Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm just a daddy's girl. We can say that 619 00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:14,960 Speaker 3: we get along perfectly. 620 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,000 Speaker 6: Well, this is Neveah again. 621 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:20,240 Speaker 3: And it's just because we can match each other's energy. 622 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:22,439 Speaker 3: Like when he's mad for some reason, like I'm mad 623 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:25,840 Speaker 3: on the same day he fixes cars for his friends 624 00:39:25,880 --> 00:39:28,160 Speaker 3: and stuff. He was always trying to teach me, and 625 00:39:28,239 --> 00:39:30,359 Speaker 3: like that was like our bonding time. Like even if 626 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:32,279 Speaker 3: it's just for a week that he's in jail, I'm 627 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:36,000 Speaker 3: so sad just because like I can't see him in person, 628 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:37,960 Speaker 3: like I could talk to him on the phone, but 629 00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:39,880 Speaker 3: like even on the phone call, like there's only a 630 00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:44,240 Speaker 3: ten minute restriction, and like when like that lady says, oh, 631 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:47,400 Speaker 3: thanks for using Securius, goodbye, Like my heart feels so 632 00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:50,239 Speaker 3: sad because like I love talking to my dad. I 633 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:59,439 Speaker 3: just like love hearing his voice. 634 00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:03,719 Speaker 6: When Lube began studying integrative health sciences, her hope was 635 00:40:03,719 --> 00:40:09,120 Speaker 6: to volunteer in treatment facilities and offer alternative practices like meditation, acupressure, 636 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:14,000 Speaker 6: and essential oils. She believed that alongside medication treatment, this 637 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:17,920 Speaker 6: could help ease discomfort. Not only that, she saw the 638 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:21,360 Speaker 6: value in teaching and sharing ancient healing practices as a 639 00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:23,640 Speaker 6: way to get people connected back to their own history 640 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:24,800 Speaker 6: and culture as a community. 641 00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:28,520 Speaker 5: I firmly believe, as a mom and as a community 642 00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:33,400 Speaker 5: activist that every community needs a yer verra, a herbalist, 643 00:40:34,040 --> 00:40:40,360 Speaker 5: Every community needs atera adulla, you know, a midwife. Every 644 00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:45,279 Speaker 5: community needs a kurandera healer, a wesa, someone to put 645 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:48,839 Speaker 5: you know, your bones together when you would get hurt, 646 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:53,480 Speaker 5: and a quancihera, a counselor. And I think, you know, 647 00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:57,319 Speaker 5: communities weren't as broken as they are now. But I 648 00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:00,239 Speaker 5: think that was because in every family there was a 649 00:41:00,239 --> 00:41:01,000 Speaker 5: little bit of it. 650 00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:09,799 Speaker 6: Lupey says no existing treatment centers wanted to work with her, 651 00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:13,000 Speaker 6: so she decided she would start her own center to 652 00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:16,480 Speaker 6: help rebuild her community, one household at a time. Starting 653 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:22,160 Speaker 6: with her own Okay, Lupey decided to create Badio Sognitos. 654 00:41:23,040 --> 00:41:25,480 Speaker 6: She zeroed in on the building of an old elementary 655 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:28,040 Speaker 6: school just down the road from the Santoadio that Chimayo, 656 00:41:28,640 --> 00:41:31,720 Speaker 6: where thousands come every year to pray and be healed 657 00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:36,160 Speaker 6: by the valley's holy dirt. With a clear path to 658 00:41:36,239 --> 00:41:39,960 Speaker 6: her college degree and a clear mission for herself, Lupe 659 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:43,480 Speaker 6: was able to secure funding to establish her organization, a 660 00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:45,400 Speaker 6: place where she would share what she'd learned with the 661 00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:49,160 Speaker 6: entire community. The door would be open to anyone in need. 662 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:54,200 Speaker 5: All right, So we are in my office. In the 663 00:41:54,239 --> 00:41:56,600 Speaker 5: back of the office, there's a little corner. 664 00:41:57,160 --> 00:41:59,799 Speaker 6: Lupe set up her office in a former classroom. It's 665 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:03,880 Speaker 6: a bright, cheery space full of bookshelves and photos. Cards 666 00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:06,880 Speaker 6: and artwork cover the walls. All the way in the 667 00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:09,480 Speaker 6: back is an altar too arena. 668 00:42:11,719 --> 00:42:12,080 Speaker 5: On it. 669 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:14,680 Speaker 6: She has pictures of Fernando and other offerings. 670 00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:19,959 Speaker 5: I also have some rose water dirt from the Santoadrio. 671 00:42:20,719 --> 00:42:23,720 Speaker 5: I also have some sage and corn. 672 00:42:24,719 --> 00:42:27,360 Speaker 6: She also keeps a handful of rocks painted with the 673 00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:30,480 Speaker 6: names of individuals who've died, given to her by other 674 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:31,960 Speaker 6: parents in the community. 675 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:40,040 Speaker 5: Juan, Anthony, Nicolas and Joshua. And I keep them here 676 00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:52,399 Speaker 5: at the altar because it's important that we remember them. 677 00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:55,320 Speaker 6: Body of Sonidos isn't designed to replace the drug treatment 678 00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:58,600 Speaker 6: options that exist. It's a place dedicated to meeting the 679 00:42:58,640 --> 00:43:01,759 Speaker 6: social needs of families who are affected by the drug crisis. 680 00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:05,439 Speaker 6: Even still, doctors who are working on the front lines 681 00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:08,160 Speaker 6: of the opioid epidemic in northern New Mexico know that 682 00:43:08,239 --> 00:43:10,800 Speaker 6: Lupe plays a crucial role in the treatment network. 683 00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:13,560 Speaker 2: She has been a relentless community activist. 684 00:43:14,200 --> 00:43:16,680 Speaker 6: This is doctor Bot again, the U and M addiction 685 00:43:16,719 --> 00:43:18,400 Speaker 6: psychiatrist we spoke to earlier. 686 00:43:18,719 --> 00:43:22,920 Speaker 2: She's taken the struggles within her own family and really 687 00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:27,120 Speaker 2: use that empathy to create this sense of belonging for 688 00:43:27,239 --> 00:43:30,400 Speaker 2: other mothers or grandmothers or family members who may be 689 00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:32,400 Speaker 2: going through some of those strong same struggles, and that 690 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:36,080 Speaker 2: really addresses some of the isolation that people feel when 691 00:43:36,080 --> 00:43:38,920 Speaker 2: their family members are struggling with substance use disorders. 692 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:45,840 Speaker 6: Treatment providers like Bought attribute the success of Body of 693 00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:48,840 Speaker 6: Sounitos not only do Lupe's strong connection to her community, 694 00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:50,840 Speaker 6: but to her hard earned credentials. 695 00:43:51,360 --> 00:43:54,640 Speaker 2: For Lupe to go back and get that degree, it's 696 00:43:54,680 --> 00:43:58,600 Speaker 2: tremendous because now she can navigate the two worlds where 697 00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:01,719 Speaker 2: she already has the she already has the support of 698 00:44:01,719 --> 00:44:04,600 Speaker 2: the community, and now she is a seat at the 699 00:44:04,680 --> 00:44:08,040 Speaker 2: table with the people who are making decisions, including things 700 00:44:08,080 --> 00:44:09,279 Speaker 2: like where does funding go. 701 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:13,920 Speaker 6: Badius Nilos, staffed by Loupe, her partner Gerald, and a 702 00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:16,960 Speaker 6: crew of volunteers also open the doors to families to 703 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:20,120 Speaker 6: learn about addiction and address how they've been affected by it, 704 00:44:21,080 --> 00:44:24,279 Speaker 6: and Loupe feels it's particularly important to focus on how 705 00:44:24,320 --> 00:44:27,160 Speaker 6: to support members of the community who are using drugs, 706 00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:30,600 Speaker 6: whether or not they're trying to stop, because ultimately the 707 00:44:30,640 --> 00:44:34,840 Speaker 6: goal is to keep loved ones alive. For BOT, doctors 708 00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:38,399 Speaker 6: and medical professionals need to take the same approach. They 709 00:44:38,440 --> 00:44:40,520 Speaker 6: need to be willing to meet patients where they're at 710 00:44:40,840 --> 00:44:44,239 Speaker 6: and work to destigmatize addiction treatment, and that means that 711 00:44:44,360 --> 00:44:47,200 Speaker 6: sometimes people may go back to using drugs. 712 00:44:47,640 --> 00:44:50,800 Speaker 2: We're not going for one hundred percent cessational feuds. 713 00:44:51,680 --> 00:44:53,560 Speaker 6: If the goal is to help keep people alive and 714 00:44:53,560 --> 00:44:56,839 Speaker 6: improve their health, Kicking people out of treatment because they've 715 00:44:56,880 --> 00:44:59,960 Speaker 6: used drugs isn't necessarily going to move towards. 716 00:44:59,719 --> 00:45:03,120 Speaker 2: That go The message are patients have received from their family, 717 00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:06,920 Speaker 2: from communities, and maybe most importantly and damagingly, from the 718 00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:10,760 Speaker 2: providers that if you relapse, you're failing treatment. 719 00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:20,239 Speaker 6: Bots as it's time to reframe what quote unquote sobriety 720 00:45:20,480 --> 00:45:24,839 Speaker 6: and successive treatment looks like for people with opioid use disorders. 721 00:45:24,400 --> 00:45:27,360 Speaker 2: So it's an opportunity. That's really the important part of 722 00:45:27,440 --> 00:45:30,560 Speaker 2: creating an environment where you're able to bring them back 723 00:45:30,560 --> 00:45:32,640 Speaker 2: and talk about it with the patient, to take away 724 00:45:32,719 --> 00:45:35,960 Speaker 2: that guilt and the shame and the anger and provide 725 00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:41,520 Speaker 2: not just encouragement but also those really practical tools about 726 00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:43,919 Speaker 2: how do we minimize the chance that it happens again, 727 00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:46,800 Speaker 2: may happen again, and if it does, we'll still be 728 00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:49,160 Speaker 2: here for you. We're here, We're going to support you. 729 00:45:52,560 --> 00:45:57,160 Speaker 6: Because ultimately, community support is key to recovery, and that's 730 00:45:57,160 --> 00:45:58,080 Speaker 6: what Lupe is doing. 731 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:02,520 Speaker 2: There is this idea of community as the clinic. How 732 00:46:02,520 --> 00:46:06,360 Speaker 2: do we create an environment in which the young generation 733 00:46:06,680 --> 00:46:10,440 Speaker 2: is connecting to the traditions which are protective, you know, 734 00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:13,480 Speaker 2: and kind of having that connection with language through culture, 735 00:46:13,600 --> 00:46:18,200 Speaker 2: through traditional activities, and can that actually even prevent so 736 00:46:18,400 --> 00:46:20,080 Speaker 2: they start into substance use. 737 00:46:27,880 --> 00:46:31,600 Speaker 9: I have cedar here, I have sage, and I have 738 00:46:32,719 --> 00:46:38,000 Speaker 9: pinon branches and they represent, you know, the native plants 739 00:46:38,040 --> 00:46:39,319 Speaker 9: that existed here for. 740 00:46:39,360 --> 00:46:40,040 Speaker 1: A long time. 741 00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:46,520 Speaker 6: At Badius NWOS, the mascalis or sweat lodge ceremonies are 742 00:46:46,560 --> 00:46:50,080 Speaker 6: one way community members learn and connect with traditional practices 743 00:46:50,640 --> 00:46:54,120 Speaker 6: and also experience the healing power of the communal ceremony. 744 00:46:56,080 --> 00:46:58,120 Speaker 3: You have to make the fire, you have to take 745 00:46:58,160 --> 00:47:00,440 Speaker 3: out the rocks from inside the thomas all that the 746 00:47:00,480 --> 00:47:02,359 Speaker 3: previous person did use. 747 00:47:02,920 --> 00:47:06,319 Speaker 6: This is Lupe's granddaughter, Navea. She's not only participating in 748 00:47:06,320 --> 00:47:09,040 Speaker 6: the sweat Lodge ceremonies, but it started to help prepare 749 00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:10,799 Speaker 6: and facilitate them with others. 750 00:47:11,040 --> 00:47:13,040 Speaker 3: You have to take them out, make the fire, get 751 00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:15,920 Speaker 3: the fire hot, put in the rocks, and then you 752 00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:18,160 Speaker 3: have to put on the blankets and that takes a 753 00:47:18,160 --> 00:47:20,480 Speaker 3: while because it's a lot of blankets. You have to 754 00:47:20,520 --> 00:47:22,479 Speaker 3: wait for the rocks to get hot for a little while, 755 00:47:23,239 --> 00:47:25,759 Speaker 3: and then you do prayer and stuff before you go in. 756 00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:28,480 Speaker 3: You smudge yourself and then you go inside and then 757 00:47:28,520 --> 00:47:29,480 Speaker 3: you start. 758 00:47:32,040 --> 00:47:36,200 Speaker 6: Even at thirteen, the experience has impacted her. When she 759 00:47:36,280 --> 00:47:38,880 Speaker 6: first participated in a sweat ceremony. 760 00:47:39,080 --> 00:47:42,800 Speaker 3: I felt cleansed because like lately, I've been like unhappy 761 00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:46,000 Speaker 3: with myself from the choices I made. And after that, 762 00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:51,800 Speaker 3: I felt like happy and relaxed, knowing that like everything's 763 00:47:51,840 --> 00:47:54,440 Speaker 3: gonna be okay. Because it's another thing that sweat does. 764 00:47:54,920 --> 00:47:57,120 Speaker 3: You can feel like the spirits and stuff inside the 765 00:47:57,120 --> 00:47:59,600 Speaker 3: sweat telling you it's gonna be okay, like you're gonna 766 00:47:59,600 --> 00:48:03,239 Speaker 3: be fine. So yeah, I felt good afterwards. 767 00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:11,640 Speaker 6: It's all Lupe could ask for for her grandkids to 768 00:48:11,719 --> 00:48:15,000 Speaker 6: experience the healing she's worked so hard to offer her 769 00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:20,600 Speaker 6: family and others. She's accomplished so much. At the same time, 770 00:48:21,200 --> 00:48:23,400 Speaker 6: she hopes one day she'll also just be able to 771 00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:24,000 Speaker 6: be an Amoela. 772 00:48:24,800 --> 00:48:29,160 Speaker 5: I'd like to teach my granddaughters how to crochet, to sew, 773 00:48:29,320 --> 00:48:33,280 Speaker 5: to bake, make church tias. I mean, I think about 774 00:48:33,320 --> 00:48:37,359 Speaker 5: that like auld dream that I dreamt a long time ago. 775 00:48:37,840 --> 00:48:39,640 Speaker 5: I want to be a good grandma the way my 776 00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:43,800 Speaker 5: grandma was good to me. And right now I can't 777 00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:47,959 Speaker 5: be that because I'm the parent, and it's not necessarily 778 00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:52,680 Speaker 5: fun to be the parent because you can't do the 779 00:48:52,719 --> 00:48:58,400 Speaker 5: fun stuff. But you know, knowing that I may not 780 00:48:58,640 --> 00:49:01,960 Speaker 5: see the fruits of my labyer is good with my 781 00:49:02,120 --> 00:49:10,080 Speaker 5: soul because my granddaughter's will and one day I felt 782 00:49:10,080 --> 00:49:12,640 Speaker 5: this whisper that my great granddaughter's girl. 783 00:49:33,920 --> 00:49:37,840 Speaker 4: This episode was produced by Julias Lafani and Juaquine Coddler 784 00:49:37,880 --> 00:49:41,560 Speaker 4: and edited by Marta Martinez. It was mixed by Stephanie 785 00:49:41,640 --> 00:49:45,319 Speaker 4: Lebau and Julia Caruso. Fact checking for this episode by 786 00:49:45,360 --> 00:49:49,759 Speaker 4: Monica Morales. The Latino USA team includes Andrea Lopez Crusado, 787 00:49:49,960 --> 00:49:55,120 Speaker 4: Mike Sargent, Julia Ta Martinelli, Victoria Estrada, Patricia Sulbaran, Gini 788 00:49:55,200 --> 00:49:59,640 Speaker 4: montalbo Alejandra Salasad Rinaldo, LEANOZ Junior and Julia Rocha with 789 00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:00,840 Speaker 4: help Perez. 790 00:50:01,160 --> 00:50:03,440 Speaker 1: Our editorial director is Julio Ricardo Barela. 791 00:50:03,840 --> 00:50:07,640 Speaker 4: Our associate engineers are gabrie Le Bayez and jj Krubin. 792 00:50:07,960 --> 00:50:11,480 Speaker 4: Our digital editor is Luis Luna. Our fellows are Elisa 793 00:50:11,520 --> 00:50:15,120 Speaker 4: Bayina and Andrew Vignalis. Our theme music was composed by 794 00:50:15,160 --> 00:50:17,600 Speaker 4: Xenia Rubinos. If you like the music you heard on 795 00:50:17,680 --> 00:50:20,960 Speaker 4: this episode, stop by Latinousa dot org and check out 796 00:50:20,960 --> 00:50:24,680 Speaker 4: our weekly Spotify playlist. I'm your host and executive producer 797 00:50:24,800 --> 00:50:27,960 Speaker 4: Marie jo Josa. Join us again on our next episode, 798 00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:29,880 Speaker 4: and in the meantime, I'll see you on all of 799 00:50:29,920 --> 00:50:33,600 Speaker 4: our social media hilos, waco a Stella, Proxima JAOU. 800 00:50:35,800 --> 00:50:38,840 Speaker 10: Funding for Latino USA is coverage of a culture of 801 00:50:38,920 --> 00:50:41,480 Speaker 10: health is made possible in part by a grant from 802 00:50:41,520 --> 00:50:46,320 Speaker 10: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Latino USA is made possible 803 00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:52,160 Speaker 10: in part by the Heisin Simons Foundation, Unlocking knowledge, opportunity, 804 00:50:52,400 --> 00:50:58,960 Speaker 10: and possibilities. More at hsfoundation dot org and W. K. 805 00:50:59,200 --> 00:51:04,200 Speaker 10: Kellogg Foundation, a partner with communities where children Come First. 806 00:51:10,120 --> 00:51:13,360 Speaker 1: Gotta Go, It's okay, all right, Here we go. I 807 00:51:13,640 --> 00:51:14,440 Speaker 1: us