Drywater Harm Reduction Coalition

Fentanyl has come into American culture at an unimaginable velocity. It is in all fifty states & it is virtually impossible to find any drugs that have not been “laced” or poisoned with Fentanyl. I look around and I see my entire generation dying around me. Fentanyl kills more young people than cocaine, meth, heroin, & prescription drugs combined. Native Americans having the highest fatal overdose rate of any ethnicity, according to the CDC.

Four months ago I lost my husband to an intentional, Fentanyl overdose. It was his third overdose in 15 hours. We had copious amounts of Narcan on hand that been provided to us by the hospital he received his medicated assisted treatment at. They provided us so much because we live an hour and ten minutes from that hospital. In the event of an overdose, every second matters. According to responding officers, my husband’s overdose was the fifth overdose in Catoosa, Oklahoma in twenty-fours. Catoosa is small casino town of roughly only 8,000 people in a far corner of the Cherokee Nation Reservation. However, the Casino draws extreme tourism & takes in over a million dollars a day. 

Despite our extremely high overdose rates & substance abuse, we have no harm reduction measures in town. If somebody wants Narcan, they have to go 30 minutes into Tulsa or 30 minutes into Claremore. Or  like in my husband’s case, over an hour into the reservation’s capital city, Tahlequah. There is an extremely large unhoused population that has no means to get to these places. Our local law-enforcement is not properly educated on Fentanyl. Our local community is not properly educated on fentanyl. Therefore, we are vulnerable.

My solution is simple, accessible harm reduction that follows Indigenous epistemologies. My husband had extra years of life things to clean needles, Suboxone, and Narcan. My husband had extra years thanks to harm reduction and education. That is what my community now needs.

Drywater Harm Reduction Coalition, named for my late husband Cameron Drywater, currently operates out of my car & home. By having a functional, modest space in the center of town we would be able to serve many more community members. Technology made available to us would allow us to database our population served and identify extremely important demographics. Which would include but are not limited too: tribal enrollment status, race, sex & housing status. It would allow us to provide Fentanyl education in a digestible way. Additionally, it would allow us to market ourselves at a new capacity to attract more donations, and build practical partnerships with neighboring tribes, towns & counties. 

The most important part of my solution is the access to actual harm reduction supplies. This includes things like personal hygiene products, HIV/STD testing, condoms, pregnancy tests, outside resource guidance  and Narcan. 

My solution serves the people of Catoosa, Oklahoma. It serves the people who come into our town as tourist and casino patrons. It serves our younger and future generations. By providing resources to my community, I will quite literally be saving lives. There is currently nothing that exist in my community to address these needs in any capacity. 

My solution will be located within the Cherokee Nation reservation. Our county, Rogers county, has the highest number of Cherokee children anywhere on the entire reservation outside of the capital’s county. However, our area is very urban. We have tribal members from communities not just all over the state, but the entire United States. Drywater Harm Reduction Coalition might be Indigenous centric, but it is for everyone. 

As the team lead, I think I am extremely well trained for this solution. I hold a bachelors in Indigenous Liberal Studies and a masters in American Cultural Studies. I am certified as an Indigenous harm reduction trainer. I interned at GRAND Mental Health where I provided recommendations to bridge cultural gaps in mental health care & recovery. 
Most importantly, I have real life experience with addiction, mental illness, and fentanyl. I watched my father battle addiction for thirty years - passing just five weeks after my husband. I watched my husband battle it for four. I saw the true gaps & where help is needed the most. 

Although I already have established a working relationship with our district’s councilmen, I am ready to build new relationships to strengthen advocacy for my community. I am ready to listen, learn & help. 

I am applying to solve to gain better education to help support my community. I need guidance on the business aspect of things. I need a better framework for my nonprofit. I need to learn from & with people who have had their communities plagued by addiction. 

I was born and raised in Catoosa, Oklahoma. I still currently reside in Catoosa - moving only when obtaining my college degrees. I am raising my Cherokee children in Catoosa.

Abstinence from substances has always been taught as the only way. That’s not science-based and it’s not client friendly. Helping people is meeting them where they are at. We have gotten to the place that we are in by not utilizing harm reduction. The only true chance we have is to embrace harm reduction and expand education.

My immediate goal is to be able to provide as many resources as possible. I want to get so much Narcan into my community in the next year, that everyone is able to carry on their person. Ultimately, I want to be able to go and teach about drug safety in classrooms, to first responders and any community members who want to learn.

The biggest indicator to measure progress is how many people are getting supplies from us. Right now that number is very low because not many people know we exist, especially considering the fact that I’m currently serving community members out of my own home/car.

I expect my solution to change the way that people see substance use. I want my solution to help humanize people by providing education to their loved ones. I want to distinguish the shame that people feel an addiction. Mostly, I want to save lives by providing resources that will do that.

At our core, we will use Harm reduction which we know is evidence based knowledge. We will also use Indigenous epistemologies from different members of our team as well as our clients. We hope to eventually use an app or software to communicate client needs while simultaneously databasing.

Our team consist of Indigenous people from the United States and Mexico. We consist of disabled people, people who use(d) substances, people who are LGBTQ+. We have people who come from rural communities and urban communities. We are actively seeking contributors to work with us who are from non-Native backgrounds who have experience with harm reduction or addiction. We believe all people deserve love, understanding and equal access to care in a shame-free environment.