Oral History Interview with Alex Elswick

Partial Transcript: "Alright, uh, today is September 30th, 2020, I'm Ethan Sharp. I'm here in Lexington, KY, and I'm talking with Alex Elswick, who is, you're also in Lexington, I assume?"

Segment Synopsis: Interviewer introduces himself and interviewee.

Keywords: Alex Elswick

Partial Transcript: "Uh, so Alex, uh we're here today to talk about primarily events that are going on, uh, this year, and how they're impacting the recovering community, but I would like for you to tell us a little bit about yourself, uh, where you were born, where you grew up, and you know your personal journey through recovery and- and into leadership roles in the recovering community."

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses the ties between his privileged upbringing and his role in the recovering community. He discusses his family's history of addiction and mental health, his personal experience with addiction and recovery, and his addiction-focused graduate research.

Subjects: Addiction; Recovery

Partial Transcript: "Oh I was just gonna say, can you talk a little bit about your involvement in starting Voices of Hope?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses the beginning of Voices of Hope, an organization created by him and his family for recovery assistance.

Keywords: Voices of hope; voices of hope; Voices of Hope

Subjects: Addiction; Recovery

Partial Transcript: "Yeah, can you talk about, sort of, what the vision of an RCO is, or Recovering Community Organization?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses the basics of what a Recovery Community Organization (RCO) does for the community.

Keywords: RCO; rco; recovering community organization; Recovering Community Organization

Subjects: Community; Recovery

Partial Transcript: "Uh so maybe we could go back to your journey as a graduate student, how that's informed your work with Voices [of Hope] and other organizations?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick talks about his graduate studies which focused on peer-based addiction and recovery capital. Elswick discusses how he shifted his research focus from the drugs and addiction to the potential of recovery, making his approach an assets/strengths-based one.

Keywords: graduate research; Graduate Research

Subjects: graduate school; Graduate School

Partial Transcript: "Okay, and what, so what program did you study in, and then um what is your work now, and then we'll come maybe to recovery capital?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses his programs of graduate study, as well as his current job. He talks about how he received his Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and got a Doctorate in the Family Science Department. He discusses his dissertation that was a trial of a telephone recovery support program used by Voices of Hope. He currently works at the University of Kentucky as an assistant professor for substance use prevention and recovery.

Keywords: uk; UK; university of kentucky; University of Kentucky

Subjects: Addiction; Career; College; Recovery

Partial Transcript: "Yeah, and did your dissertation address recovery capital then? Was - was that a major theme?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses and explains the concept of recovery capital, which is the sum of resources within and without a person they can use to support their recovery. He discusses the difference between personal, social, and community recovery capital, and refers to recovery capital as a type of privilege. He also gives a personal example from his own experience and discusses how it can make a significance in someone's recovery.

Keywords: recovery capital; Recovery Capital; robert granfield; Robert Granfield; wiliam cloud; William Cloud

Subjects: Privilege; Recovery

Partial Transcript: "Can you talk about how revolutionary that [recovery capital] is within the recovery field?

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses the history behind the theory of Recovery Capital to show its importance in the recovery community.

Keywords: recovery capital; Recovery Capital

Subjects: history

Partial Transcript: "Um, so let's - let's talk about the work that you're doing now. So you're working at UK and you're also invited to speak and - and you're sort of a well-known advocate. Can you talk a little bit about your - those activities?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses his job at the University of Kentucky and his involvement in the community. He discusses working with treatment centers, helping develop curriculum, and being involved in a multidisciplinary system which helps build recovery capital.

Keywords: community involvement; Community Involvement; UK; uk; university of kentucky; University of Kentucky

Partial Transcript: "Yeah, yeah, and um - and the- and the judge mentioned you're also - there was - I - I sort of missed this, but there was this new project that you were starting? I don't know if I'm - is that the one he was talking about that SAMSHA [Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration] grant?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses his partnership with the Administrative Office of the Courts, more specifically Judge Privett, which allowed him to bring recovery capital to three counties.

Keywords: brian privett; Brian Privett; judge privett; Judge privett; recovery capital; Recovery Capital; samsha; SAMSHA; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; substance abuse and mental health services administration

Subjects: Grant; Partnership; Project

Partial Transcript: "And things - uh - Voices of Hope have really evolved. Could you talk a little bit about the new things that have started there too?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick details what his program Voices of Hope does for the community and how it has grown since its beginning. He also notes that Voices of Hope has been selected to be a part of the Healing Communities study. Elswick discusses their telephone support service, recovery coaches, and weekly meetings to support recovering addicts, although he notes that all their meetings have gone virtual due to COVID-19.

Keywords: corona; Corona; Coronavirus; coronavirus; COVID; covid; covid-19; COVID-19; pandemic; Pandemic; voices of hope; Voices of Hope

Subjects: Addiction; Community; Recovery

Partial Transcript: "And - and what is the focus of harm reduction? How is it different from some of the other groups?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses the difference between Voices of Hope's Harm Reduction program and the more common programs in communities that are abstinence based. Only 10% of people with an addiction problem receive services in a year, because addicts do not want an abstinence based program. His program takes the focus of what and how much drugs are being used and instead focuses on the harm being caused. Elswick discusses more of what Voices of Hope is doing for the community. He mentions that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, has come and visited.

Keywords: harm reduction; Harm Reduction

Subjects: Addiction; Community; Recovery; Voices of Hope

Partial Transcript: "Well let's - let's um -let's talk about the impact of the - the pandemic um, on - on, you know, people who are struggling with opioid use disorder, people, you know, in recovery. Maybe, you know, maybe they're just getting started in recovery or maybe, you could also address people in long-term recovery, how the pandemic has affected them and the organizations that support them. So it's a sorta broad question, but if you could walk through some of the - the different initiatives you have been involved in, how they have been impacted and how you have adjusted, you know to - to the pandemic."

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses the impact of the pandemic on people in recovery. He notes how many people will blame addicts problems on their drug use versus understanding the mental health issues and economic challenges addicts face. 2020 saw a spike in deaths compared to 2018 and 2019, which were already bad years.

Keywords: coronavirus; Coronavirus; covid; Covid; covid-19; Covid-19; Opioid; opioid; pandemic; Pandemic

Subjects: Addiction; Covid-19; Death; Opioid Epidemic; Recovery

Partial Transcript: "Right, right, right. And you know, how does that impact services that, you know, people were getting, um, I know you mentioned that Voices of Hope has adjusted, um, but if you take a sorta broader view, uh you know, you know, maybe people were doing outpatient treatment, maybe they didn't show up for their appointments, I don't know, if you could sorta address sort of the, you know, the issue of them getting the services they need?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick continues to discuss the impact the pandemic had on treatment centers and their patients. Shelters and treatment centers for a while did not take new admissions, he notes. Elswick discusses that community-based recovery support services have been negatively impacted the most since they are peer-based and focused on social connection. Elswick points out the Voices of Hope's telephone support recovery program was able to continue throughout the pandemic and their virtual meetings turned out well.

Keywords: telephone support recovery program; Telephone Support Recovery Program; treatment centers; Treatment Centers; Voices of Hope; voices of hope

Subjects: Addiction; Recovery; Recovery Support Centers; Treatment

Partial Transcript: "The other thing that I've seen that's really a positive is we've seen a little more focus on harm reduction."

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses that the pandemic helped communities to focus less on abstinence in addicts and more on harm reduction. He discusses the relaxation of certain protocols and policies surrounding medication.

Keywords: harm reduction; Harm Reduction

Subjects: Addiction; Covid-19; Recovery

Partial Transcript: "And so, when you say, that - you know- when you, when you switched to online meetings, so the attendance has pretty much ben consistent through Voices of Hope for that?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses how the pandemic first made Voices of Hope's meeting attendance drop, but it has picked up since the beginning of the pandemic. He also discusses attendance at 12-step meetings in churches and other locations.

Keywords: voices of hope; Voices of Hope

Subjects: Drug addiction--Treatment; Meeting

Partial Transcript: "So how did the - the pandemic affect these, you know these other things that you were working on, you know your - your- advocacy across the state and beyond, um your project with Judge Privett, your SAMSHA project - did all those things get put on hold or - ?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses the impact the pandemic had on his personal projects and advocacy. He notes the widespread interruptions in critical services. He also notes that they have more flexibility, because they provide more peer-based services, and those peers can fill different roles.

Keywords: brian privett; Brian Privett; Judge Privett; judge privett; samsha; SAMSHA; substance abuse and mental health services administration; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Subjects: Meeting; Pandemic; Project

Partial Transcript: "Right, right right. Um but are there - are there any other - is there any other data or personal stories/anecdotes that you could share about the pandemic and its impact on the recovering community?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick shares data he collected prior to the pandemic, but says data from the pandemic about the recovering community has yet to be collected.

Subjects: Addiction; Covid-19; Recovery

Partial Transcript: "Where do you see things going? There's a lot of, as you mentioned, more acceptance of harm reduction measures, um, the online seems to be working. Where do you see things going from here as things slowly return to normal, do you see the recovery community coming back stronger and - and - and these initiatives being more effective or - ?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick addresses his concerns for the future in regards to the opioid epidemic, as he voices fears that things will worsen after the pandemic instead of getting better, due to a slow response to the epidemic. However, he does have hopes as he notes that people in recovery are survivalists.

Keywords: coronavirus; Coronavirus; covid-19; Covid-19

Subjects: Addiction in America; Drug addiction--United States; Opioid abuse

Partial Transcript: "Let me just uh pick up on a thing that you mentioned there, um what is sort of your vision of you know, I'll - I'll say us, but you know I mean the government and the communities around the - around the state? What is your vision of us dealing effectively with the opioid epidemic? What is needed there?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses ways the government could change and help fight the opioid epidemic. He believes that the focused should be shifted away from abstinence so that more people can receive treatment and services. Elswick stresses "assets not abstinence" is the best mode of action to help addicts.

Keywords: Abstinence; Government; Treatment

Subjects: Kentucky; Opioid abuse

Partial Transcript: "Um, this may be a bit of a curveball, but uh, I didn't know if you could talk about, sort of, how other events that have taken place in 2020 intersect with - with things you've been involved in, so you know, that could be the protests, it could be the political campaigns, you know? Sort of an open question, if you wanna - anything there?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses the concerns Voices of Hope has addressed regarding racism and ensuring diversity is encouraged in their community. He notes that the war on drugs is the intersection between racism and incarceration, and that there remains much left to be be reconciled.

Keywords: 2020; racism; Racism; voices of hope; Voices of Hope

Partial Transcript: "And - and - you know, politically, you find that you get support from, you know, for - uh you know -more resources than addressing the opioid epidemic. Is that, you know, is there sort of broad consensus on that issue or is there still counter barriers there?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses his allotment of resources and how they are used. He notes that they use a lot of funds in an effort to intercept the drug supply. He notes that more funds would allow for better treatment of addicts who need more than a 30-day stay in a treatment center.

Keywords: Opioid Epidemic

Subjects: Addiction in America

Partial Transcript: "Well I think we're - we're kinda uh winding down here, but maybe sort of, following up on that question, you know, one of the things- I don't know if we brought this up, Voices of Hope does try to connect folks to, um employment opportunities - amI - am I right about that? You know, that's sort of a way of addressing that piece of recovery capital, you know, sort of an essential piece of addressing the broader epidemic, so I didn't know if you could talk about that?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick discusses Voices of Hope's Employment Readiness Program. He notes that most people in recovery lack professional experience due to lack of opportunity and environment, and so their program helps to break this cultural barrier and teach recovering addicts professional skills based on their assets.

Keywords: Voices of Hope

Partial Transcript: "Well maybe to uh end on a positive note, I didn't know if there were any stories of - stories that you'd like to share of someone who's done really well in some of the programs that you've worked on, or anything, you know, anything like that?"

Segment Synopsis: Elswick shares an inspiring story of someone who came into Voices of Hope, received what he needed to get his self-esteem back, which made all the difference.