The facility on the front lines in terms of mental health and addictions sees all too well the effects of drug use, particularly the string of opioid-related deaths in recent weeks.
The Gathering Place in St. John’s is sort of a community within a community with hundreds of guests each day availing of meals, lodging, clothing and other services.
Executive Director Paul Davis sees all too well the effects which the recent spike in deaths is having on not only their clienteles but also workers and volunteers. The facility has naloxone and narcan kits on hand and has had occasion to use them.
Paul Davis
Davis says ten years ago their clientele was comprised primarily of older men. That’s not necessarily the case today.
He says they’re seeing more younger people at the facility and more women seeking services as well.
Davis says mental health and addictions are not choices. He says no kid in elementary school when asked what they want to be when they grow up answers, “I want to be an addict or I want to go to the Gathering Place.”
Davis was public with his battle with cancer in 2011 and got a lot of support from people. He says it wasn’t his fault that he got cancer. but says people tend to back away if it’s a mental health issue.
