Lending a Helping Hand: Drug & Alcohol Awareness Event

For those struggling with substance abuse, sometimes the best resource is a friendly face extending a helping hand, offering support. 

For students at WCC, a helping hand was one of the many offerings on Thursday, Jan. 30 at the  special tabling event arranged by the WCC Counseling Department. In honor of Drug & Alcohol Awareness Week, this annual event – put on at WCC for the past six years – centers around raising drug and alcohol awareness. The event went from 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. with tables spread throughout the first floor open for students to find different agencies that could provide resources and references. 

One person behind this event was Tory Sandoz, the Program Coordinator for the Substance Use Disorder Professional at WCC. Sandoz attributed this event as being the brainchild of the counseling department, with the goal of the event to spread awareness. 

Sandoz said that for her, the hope is that the “impact might be that [students struggling with substance abuse] might get to see the face of people who were there to help them.” Sandoz explained that it might be easier for those struggling with addiction to see the people they would later see when arriving at a clinic.

Sandoz emphasized the importance of sharing awareness about fentanyl specifically. She mentioned how fentanyl can be laced into almost any drug including cannabis. She urged those struggling to always carry Narcan in case of emergency. 

At one table, the Substance Abuse Manager at the Consejo Counseling and Referral Center in Mount Vernon, Blanca Laursen, helped students in attendance find someone to talk to. Laursen wanted students to know that Consejo Counseling is available for students without insurance who are seeking counseling for substance abuse and/or mental health issues. 

Paul Curd, a Faculty Counselor at WCC, also helped at this event. Curd explained the event’s purpose which was to spread awareness of different resources available to students and different members of the community. 

Curd urged students battling addiction to ask for help: “that’s the first thing, that’s the biggest thing, set pride aside because it’s not anything that’s going to help you.” 

Leon John, the outreach director for the didgʷálič Wellness Center, was also in attendance. This Wellness Center is located in Anacortes, and is open on Monday-Friday from 5:30 a.m. – 4 p.m., as well as on Saturdays from 5:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. John explained that his agency provides drug treatment, medical assisted treatment, and medication treatment assessment to anyone 18 years or older who is in need of those services. 

John wanted to let those struggling with addiction know that they are not alone. “We will hold your hand along the way,” he said, “until you can walk again on your own.” John also mentioned a new clinic opening up near the Jail Work Center  on Division St. 

This tabling event was one of four events set up by the counseling department during Drug & Alcohol Awareness Week. The importance of these events is that they can be the olive branch that a student may need to start their process of recovery. Sometimes the best resource is a person offering a helping hand.