Teresa Sands: CASAT Podcast Network.

Bianca McCall: Welcome to the NOCE Dose Opioid Crisis Unplugged. The NOCE Dose Opioid Crisis Unplugged is a concise and insightful podcast offering a deeper dive into the realities faced by professionals combating the opioid epidemic. Join us as we reconnect with expert panelists from our listening sessions, providing a behind the scenes look at their work and insights into the pressing issues of prevention and diversion, harm reduction, opioid use, treatment, recovery and reoccurrence prevention. All right, welcome to the NOCE Dose, brought to you by the Nevada Opioid Center of Excellence at www.nvopioidcoe.org. I am your host with the NOCE, Bianca D. McCall, going behind the front lines with professionals and community members alike who support the opioid response programming in Nevada State. And we're gathered here today to debrief after the latest NOCE sponsored listening session which covered the recovery continuum and recurrence prevention for overcoming the impacts of opioid use disorder. Today we have a special guest, the Disruptor, who shared. Unless, you're literally punching a bag of fentanyl, let's do away with the term substance abuse. Please help me to welcome Teresa Sands to the provocative podcast platform for NOCE


 

Now today we're joined by Teresa Sands, a powerhouse advocate, educator and leader in addiction recovery and injury prevention Board. Born and raised in the fabulous city of Las Vegas, Nevada, Teresa is deeply rooted in her community, bringing both lived experience and professional expertise to her work. With a degree in Human services from Indiana Tech and Peer Recovery Support Specialist certification, she's now pursuing her Master's of Social work at the University of Nevada, Reno. She's a survivor of 18 years in the entertainment space. Space, which I want to talk more about today. But Teresa offers unique insights into the experiences of entertainers. And also in her professional bag, Teresa will share more about her connections to the work with sex workers and survivors of sex trafficking. Teresa leads statewide initiatives through the Recovery Advocacy Project Nevada and Young People in Recovery, driving change for underserved communities. So let's dive right into her incredible journey and the impact that she's making.


 

Teresa, welcome to the no Steps podcast. How are you feeling today? How have you been since the session?

Teresa Sands: Hi, Bianca. Well, I'm happy to be here. I'm so happy that I was included on this. The listening session was a blast. I didn't really know what to expect. I was familiar with some of the panelists. We had a good time. It was, you know, it was interesting to see different people from different Pathways come together and discuss, you know, what we can do to help better the community.

Bianca McCall: So, yeah, absolutely. Different people, different folks, different strokes, different pathways to recovery. and you certainly, like I said once again, you rock the session with your call outs on language, which reinforces the stronghold that stigma has still today. Right. And you emphasize the power of person centered language, which I loved, and knowing your audience when using that language. And you know the thing about stigma, right. That it's created through a combination of factors including lack of understanding, fear, misinformation and biases which can lead to discrimination and prejudice and injustices as we spoke about against these individuals and groups. And when we consume printed language, you know, it only has to go through our own individual filters when we're reading something. But when we speak language, the message goes through our individual filters as well as, you know, and as it's going through our filters that we're empowered to kind of choose the words and the tone and the inflection and things. but the, the message also has to go through the filters of these individuals who are receiving it. And that's where the chances for misunderstanding and exciting fear and when unconscious or implicit biases become explicit. Right.


 

So with all of that being said, what do you think, Teresa? are some ways that people in positions to spread these messages, either printing or posting or speaking and presenting. What are some ways that we can shift this language around the experiences and the impacts of opioid use disorder to have maximum impact on someone's recovery journey and how they're treated?

Teresa Sands: Yeah, it's a good question. So I think like we discussed before in the listening session, it comes down to education and even prior to the education, being willing to be taught. Right. Like you have to be teachable. Some people just aren't teachable. just being mindful of how not only your language will affect maybe your clientele or just even family members, friends, but yourself as well. Like positive affirmations. If you repeat over and over again these negative terminology, for describing just a situation that you were in at one point in your life that could be harmful for you, for your psyche and for the people you're trying to serve.

Bianca McCall: Absolutely. It's, it's language in the stories that we tell about ourselves and about our lives. Right. And, and, and being mindful of how others are, are receiving that.


 

you know, you also brought up in the listening session along those lines of, of just being mindful of, of the spaces that we're in and, and how people are receiving and Internalizing their experiences. You mentioned shame and, and these criminal penalties, if you will, and how they often present, you know, barriers for people that are self identifying and seeking help. Right. And, and can you please share with us a little bit more about that? Like, what does that look like? How does this uniquely impact special populations like entertainers, like sex workers? And adding the element of danger when we talk about those at risk and injured parties from, from sex trafficking, what does that look like? The shame, and then obviously the criminal penalties that are preventing people from self identifying and seeking help.

Teresa Sands: Yeah. There's still so much stigma around. Let's take sex work for example. People are still failing to realize, like, this is a profession, this is a business for the individual. You know, there's a lot of sex workers out there that are good at what they do, they enjoy what they do, they're doing it safely. but at the same time, with that stigma, they're reluctant to reach out for medical help, help with ob, gyn, healthcare, you know, resources. And the fear of criminalization hurt prevents them from doing so. Right. And even people who use drugs, we talk about people who use drugs wanting them to be in the rooms to make these hard decisions that we're trying to make for them. Well, it's hard to be in those rooms when you think you're going to be thrown in jail by disclosing that you're using drugs. Right. So, like, I think it's so interesting, when we're doing policy reform and advocating and bringing people in to speak to elected officials, if someone would have asked me to, you know, testify when I was living in Siegel Suites about housing security, I think that testimony would have been so powerful. But because of my situation, I didn't feel like I had the rights or that anybody wanted to listen to me or that if I went in those spaces, I could be penalized because I would have popped positive on a drug screening. So, like, those things are barriers. And with decriminalization, we lift those barriers. We allow those spaces to, to become more accessible for people. for instance, when I went through my own, time in my life where I was active in sex work and when I was, experiencing a period where I was, isolated and sex trafficked, it was hard for me to reach out and to identify a, what had happened to me. And then for me to try to advocate for change for that population just out of fear of what people were going to think of me in my professional space, even in my school space, like what? That's Going to look like, do I want to put that on my application for school that I have this lived experience or will that be looked at like I'm less than human? Right. So it's these, these things that can sway the individual for making next steps for themselves. Sure.

Bianca McCall: And gosh, Teresa thank you so much for, you know, I definitely caught the deep breath breathing. Right, the deep breath before just being so vulnerable and sharing your own personal lived experience, in these spaces. And just not only the courage that it takes, to be vulnerable, to share, your particular relationships with people, places and of course, with substances. but also it's a, real challenge, you know, when we talk about confronting, stigma. There's a real challenge there to what everybody, all of us are thinking, you know, and, and a lot of us are afraid to say is that, you know, there's this expectation that in any professional position, you know, and, and I'm speaking to like the entertainment, space right now too, is, is anytime that you are kind of in the limelight, you know, you are front facing people facing, and you're in this professional position, there's this myth that, you know, we are supposed to be perfect, you know, that we are, we are supposed to be exempt from very human experiences. And it's very common to, you know, a lot of our responses in how we're coping, with the things that we're living through are very common responses to traumatic situations, to traumatic events. And so, you know, I just want to thank you for being vulnerable and for sharing your personal lived experiences because it normalizes the sense that even though we are, in the professional space, we may be, you know, active in advocacy and being activists, in prevention, and raising awareness around, substance use disorder and specifically opioid use disorder. but that doesn't mean that we aren't human too, you know, that we don't have these shared lived experiences. And this is just more aligned with you busting these myths out there.


 

I love when you spoke about, during the listening session, the myth that people in recovery can't make good choices for themselves. and I'd like to know a little bit more from you on. What are some ways that professionals and communities can build trust and truly empower individuals to define their own recovery path. Right. Not from a place of, disappointment or shame, but defining it, their own recovery pathway. And how do we kind of end that stigma that still surrounds, the recovery journey in some of the Most educated places, like hospitals and in the agencies that you work with.

Teresa Sands: Yeah, absolutely. And there is a lot of stigma, even in the highest of places, as you said. again, it comes down to, like, educating yourself, like the professional educating themselves on what the options are, because you can't give those options to your client if you don't know what they are. Right, so, like, harm reduction, 12 step smart recovery. all those things that are out there, that are good things, but people will turn a blind eye immediately just at the sound of, oh, I'm going to help someone continue to use drugs right? Out of liability, out of fear. There's a bunch of reasons why people do that. but at the end of the day, making sure that a, the first thing you're doing is asking the individual, what do you want? Like, what is your goal? Is your goal to be abstinent or is your goal to use less? I mean, again, I want to make it very clear that recovery does not mean abstinence. It is not a pathway to abstinence. You can reduce your use, you can administer differently. You can do X, Y and Z and still be in recovery. So there's that stigma that people believe that because I'm, on mat medication or because I, X, Y and Z, I'm not in recovery because I'm not abstinent. And that's just not the case. oftentimes people think that harm reduction is a pathway to abstinence, and that's also not the case. Harm reduction is its own pillar. Like, that's its own thing. And, you know, as a harm reductionist, it's important a, that I am, transparent about my life and the lifestyle that I lead. Like, I do not actively use drugs or substances for a multitude of reasons. A, because I'm in the space that I'm in, but it doesn't mean that I'm completely abstinent. I'm going to be really transparent with you, Bianca. Not a lot of people are abstinent. They think they're abstinent. But, like, you're still transferring to X, Y and Z. You're still drinking coffee, you're still using nicotine, you're still exercising excessively. Like, so it's rare that you actually find someone that is completely abstinent. I don't know. I think I'm going on a tangent. So I digress. But I hope I answered your question.

Bianca McCall: No, absolutely. And I love when you digress, Teresa and, and I'm not sure how empowering of a statement that that is. But, but you know what I mean, Right? and so Teresa and I just. I. I love, your. Your approach to, to some of these responses. Right. Very authentic. very real. Like, this is definitely why you. You are known to. To shake things up. Right. And. And. And when you get into some of the harm reduction principles, and I know I'm gonna. I'm gonna be transparent as well. I've been avoiding the term harm reduction, throughout the listening session, throughout today. I didn't have it anywhere in my notes. and migrating towards more of, like, an injury prevention, more neutral language. But. But I'm not talking to somebody who is. Who's very neutral. Right. So I want to. I want to kind of call myself out on that. But I also.


 

I also wanted to just kind of ask you just the direct question of, like, where does this fire come from? Right? Like, what. What lived experiences, contribute to? Just this. It's almost like a defiance, Teresa Like this defiance with status quo, with the tradition of extracting, isolating somebody in recovery and going throughout these very rigid kind of steps and pathways of abstinence and all the things. But what has caused this, this fire and cause you to be such a disruptor in this space?

Teresa Sands: Yeah, Bianca. So I've, seen a. I've seen a lot of people die. You know, I, shared a little bit of my lived experience with sex work. But a lot of my motivation comes from my early losses. Like, I want to say the most profound one that I had was my partner in high school, and he was my high school sweetheart. And that's a very multiple age, right? Like, that's like your first experience that the world isn't pretty when. When you're that age. Right. So in that specific incident, what had occurred is he had called me, and I was upset with him that day because he had blown me off for xyz. And I want to preface with me and him were an active addiction together. So I want to make sure I'm taking accountability in the situation, you know? But he had called me that day and was like, hey, I don't feel good. I threw up at my gate. He's lived in a cul de sac, and there was, like, gated off. It was a very, like, exclusive, area with just a couple houses with a gate. And he's like, I threw up. I couldn't get in. Someone had to let me in. One of my neighbors knows, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I had no idea what an overdose was. I didn't know the signs of Overdose. I didn't know that he was. Had taken too much of something, and he was actively vomiting, and he probably needed to go to the hospital. You know, I was young and I was inexperienced, and I didn't have the education, so a lot of my fire. And he ended up passing away. He went to sleep, and he didn't wake up that evening. And the last phone call that I had with him was, hey, Casey, like, I'm so mad at you. You know, like, I'm not coming over. They blew me off all day. How could you. And that was it. Like, if I would have had known what Narcan was, if I would have what the signs of an overdose would, I can't say the situation would have been different. Things play out the way that they're supposed to. However, they could have been different. You know, I could have done better. Like, we could do better. So I think a lot of my motivation comes from that situation over and over again. Like, these monumental situations in my life where, if I would have known better, I could have possibly had a different outcome or could have saved somebody a lot of heartache. my second relationship, my marriage with my. My first wife, same kind of situation. I was really deep into 12 step, and I have nothing against 12 step, but what I learned from that experience is that if somebody has a reoccurrence, you cut them off, you know, And I want to be transparent. The relationship wasn't healthy. There's a lot of domestic violence. Like, I did what I had to do for myself and for my child. However, I think that with that, if I would have extended a hand to maybe some resources for her, and I've been like, kick rocks. You know, that could have. That could have played out differently for her and her family. Right. So I think it was just an accumulation of all these things that really set my soul on fire. And with that, I also am mindful of my intentions and that my own personal biases are getting mixed up in the care that I'm giving, because that's not helping anybody there. You know what I mean?

Bianca McCall: Sure, yeah. And just to that point, gosh, again, thank you so much for sharing your personal lived experiences.


 

to that point, I think as professionals in the space, certainly, as you get into some more of the clinical practices and things, we're taught to, and trained to avoid kind of these circumstances of transference. Right. And a lot of times, when we're talking about avoiding transference, avoiding those feelings of, the. The people that we're working with, that we're engaged with, are bringing up thoughts, feelings and history, our own histories, and that it's doing the same, you know, for them, you know, that we are bringing up, and activating, you know, their histories, from relationships that they've had. so we're taught to, to kind of avoid that. But as we are avoidant, we're really, you know, missing these opportunities and to your point of the self reflection of our own biases, right. It just feels bad when those thoughts and feelings and histories, those pain histories come up. so rather than avoiding and running, discontinuing relationships, you know, included, you know, what I hear from you is, is really, embracing those opportunities to self reflect, to take that personal inventory, to look at, you know, what biases are creating kind of that tension in that type of relationship. And that's something that not a lot of us in the space, we allow ourselves to do. You know, I won't say that we, there's not opportunities for it. you know, I think that there, there's always, you know, I want to empower our listeners. There's always opportunities to take space, to take a time out and and evaluate, you know, your circumstances. There's, there's mindfulness. Right. That mindfulness has flooded, our, Our industries with you know, just some interventions, some activities that we can do to just be more mindful about, you know, our presence and in our position and in our communication in these circumstances. But, but I love, I love that you're, that you're speaking to that, that level of mindfulness, right. in processing your lived experiences and identifying your own biases where, where they may, where they may persist. and, and I want to know more about, you know, that work that you're doing not only as an individual, like on the individual level, but, but tell us more about the work that you do today, the agencies that you work with, how you've been able to maintain recovery as a lifestyle, as intentional actions and a mindset. Right. through what's been probably the most challenging times in our recent human history. Right. So. So how are you, how are you, what, what work are you doing and how are you maintaining that recovery as a lifestyle?

Teresa Sands: Yeah, yeah. The climate we're in is heavy. You know, so do I type situation. But ah, so in regards to like policies and things that I'm seeing, try to be pushed through, like right now, the whole fentanyl act, which is creating punitive Punishment even more so for an individual who's caught with, I believe it's 100 grams of fentanyl and it's like a 10 year minimum prison sentence. These are bills, that I track with Recovery Advocacy Project, which is a group here in Nevada that helps, you know, make sure that we are supporting things that are going to be positive for our community and opposing things that aren't going to be so much. Right. so right now I think we're tracking SB 1747, 153 and then the whole Fentanyl act, which is on, the national, federal level. Right.

Bianca McCall: Yeah.

Teresa Sands: So that's one way that I find power, is using my voice to speak up when I'm starting to see that we're going in the wrong direction. And unfortunately, we've been going in the wrong direction since prohibition, of alcohol, but, you know. Yeah, well, it's true, Bianca. Like, we. We, penalized alcohol back in the day. And what happened? We started making moonshine in our basement, right?

Bianca McCall: Yeah.

Teresa Sands: And then we had opioids and we had the war on drugs, which was a war on people. M. Especially our brown communities with the war on drugs. And the outcome of that was we had fentanyl. Right. So we keep trying to criminalize the substance and acting like the substance is bad, which, again, like I said before, is a chemical. It's a chemical structure. It's not sentient, it doesn't have feelings. and we're getting, as a result, even stronger, more potent substances and we're wiping more and more people out, you know? okay, again, I digress, Bianca. Here we are.

Bianca McCall: Listen, listen. War on drugs or war on people?

Teresa Sands: That's right, that's right.

Bianca McCall: Yeah. I'm going to just push the mic to the side.

Teresa Sands: So. Yeah, so Recovery Advocacy Project. That's a lot of what we're doing there is advocating for people that don't have voice, voices, you know, checking on these girls that are sometimes trying to be pushed through under the radar and no one's catching them. we're catching up and making sure they're being brought to light and including call of action for everyone in the community to come together to fight those things. Right?

Bianca McCall: Yeah.

Teresa Sands: M. Yeah. So that's a big thing with me. And again, that gives me, a little bit of sanity. Everyone's voices matter. And, in regards to what I do in my day to day life, I do a lot of work with ypr. So like I said before, I'm the, chapter laid for the state of Nevada. So what YPR offers is a kind of a wraparound service and rco, it's pro Social stigma language workshops, which is where I get all this fabulous passion for anti stigma language, harm, reduction workshops, overdose prevention, Narcan distribution. Like that's where I get a lot of my support with those initiatives. I have a whole team that I can reach out to in the back and be like, hey, I want to, like right now what I really want to do is get Narcan in our public transit. So buses, Ubers, Lyfts, all those things so I can call them, be like, hey, what grants do we have? What do I do to start this? And they can kind of give me an idea and I can hit the ground running. So that's something. I've been with YPR now for a few years and I've got a lot of my education from them and just a lot of my good, good nugget knowledge, you know.

Bianca McCall: Yeah, no, I love that. You also mentioned the, the, the person centered pieces just being ingrained in you throughout the training. So that definitely, you know, you put YPR on the map for sure.


 

I know something else that really resonated with the audience is this, I think there's this desire to learn, how do we connect with and impact youth, youth that are, that are engaged in risky, dangerous relationships with substances and primarily with opioids. And can you share just a little bit about YPR and how that's been helpful, beneficial to communities in learning. How do we speak with, how do we approach, how do we engage, how do we treat, how do we support the recovery of our youth?

Teresa Sands: Absolutely. So, in regards to like training, they have a lot of good materials on the YPR young, people recovery.org website that do help with, let's say like more interventions, interpersonal relationships, parent and child, parents, is in suspicion that child might be using X, Y and Z. Like how do we approach that conversation? And I saw that question pop up during our listening session so I kind of wanted to address it. I also, in my day job I work as an admissions coordinator at a local treatment center. It's Virtue Recovery Center. And so a lot of the calls I get are not the individual themselves, it's the family. we also work with adolescents. They have a, sister property, Silver State adolescents as well. So I do get calls between 11 and 17 years old, and primarily their parents being like, what do I do? Like my 15 year old, she's violent. You know, suspended from school, like. And in those instance, it's a lot of empowering the parents, even with an adult empowering the family. I mean, minors, they kind of a little bit of a different, process in regards to what can and can't be done on their behalf. But at the end of the day, involuntary treatment just doesn't work, no matter how old you are. And a lot of times I get families that are like, how do I admit my loved one if, if they don't want to go? And it's like, that's not gonna work. You know, like, even an involuntary hold for three days are gonna be, stabilized. Then the rest of that is up to them what they're going to do after that stabilization. So really what I, in those conversations, what I recommend is planting seeds, being and having really authentic. And the key word there is authentic conversations with your child without judgment and prefacing the conversation with like, this is not a punishment. I'm not blaming you. I'm letting you know that if this is what is going on, like, I, I am here and I will find you resources with you. I will do it for you if you need me to. Because those conversations can be hard. It's really hard to pick the phone up, especially if you're a youth, and you're not going to have negative consequences for telling me the truth. These are just. People are afraid they're going to get in trouble. That's really what it comes down to. No matter what, how old you are, like, you're afraid that your people are going to judge you, your work is going to judge you, your mom and dad are going to judge you, and you're going to feel worse about yourself than you do right now. And I promise you, 99% of the time, those that are physically dependent and no longer want to be on substances don't feel the best about themselves.

Bianca McCall: Right, Right. Yeah. No, I mean, and some are just profound that, that. One of the things, profound that you mentioned is a lot of the work in, even in youth recovery, a lot of the work is done with the adults in, in those youth, environments, in their homes and their, in their systems. and when you mentioned, you know, you could, you could share your experiences with me without me blaming you, I also feel like there needs to be that, that coaching, that counseling, that, that engagement and treatment for the adults to not blame themselves. Because a lot of times it's, it's an adult coming to a youth with this guilt, you know, this veil of guilt and Especially with parents, feeling like, what have I done wrong? What's wrong with me for my child to be, you know, X, Y, Z, or. And when you are, engaging your youth, your child to have these courageous conversations and to be vulnerable and to seek understanding and things and to connect on. On an existential level, you're not going to be able to do that. approaching them with this veil of guilt and what's perceived as you're making their situation about you, you know, and about, the judgment that you will receive or you fear receiving from, all of your adult, you know, adult relationships. And so there's. There's a lot of work there. I just wanted to kind of point that out, call that out, because I think that, adults in, in any engagement with, with youth, there's this fear, that we too will be judged. and. And I say we too, because I'm an adult and, and I no longer can. Can. Can kind of consider myself a young person or a youth. But, but, but we, we have to figure that. That part out. You know, we have to be involved in that recovery. And, and, and this goes back to what I, I mentioned before with you, Teresa is that, everything that you're saying is really disrupting kind of this notion that we have to extract and isolate people, that are experiencing, you know, having dangerous, relationships with subs, substances. You know, the m. The system, the pathways to recovery no longer should include isolation. Right. At this point, we need to be connected. And so if we are connected, if we are engaging, our youth that are in crisis, then we need to be a part of. Not only just a part of the solution, but a part of the. The recovery. Right? And then recover ourselves, heal ourselves. Right? So I wrote this. I'm snapping, I'm dropping mics, and all the other things. Teresa, you also, you gave some resource, for ypr.


 

can you let us know how professionals in, the harm reduction, the injury prevention, tomato, tomato, in diversion spaces throughout the recovery continuum. can you let us know how professionals can get in contact with you and what specifically they should be calling you for?

Teresa Sands: Yeah, absolutely. So, I enjoy being the connector. I have people all day long that are reaching out for me, out to me for different reasons. Like I need treatment support, I need Narcan, I need safe syringes. I need X, Y and Z. And like, I really love seeing, the buzz in the community and that this is working. by the way, harm reduction is working. Bianca. I'm Gonna throw a little stat at you. So I don't know if you know, but in 2024, we saw 87,000 drug related overdoses. Okay. In 2023, it was 114,000. So that is a 24% decrease. That's 27,000 people.

Bianca McCall: Wow.

Teresa Sands: Lives were saved. And a lot of that is due to the buzz. Like, I just, I'm going to circle back and connect this conversation. The buzz on the street, Narcan being a household item. Well, realizing they can get it for free at nonprofits. Right. and so we really have to. Yeah, we have a lot of work to do and we're far from where we need to be, but we also need to stop and celebrate the win that, like, what we're doing is working these conversations, these podcasts, like the no Stove. Like, yes, we're making. We're making progress. So tap on the back. Kudos.

Bianca McCall: Yeah, absolutely. The data know why.

Teresa Sands: So, circling back to your initial question. So I'm pretty prevalent on social media. You can find me on the gram, on the book, all the things. But if you're looking to connect to me directly, you can email me at Las Vegas NV, youngpeopleinrecovery.org and I will answer right away as well.

Bianca McCall: All right, we'll make sure to, get that contact information in the bio and the summaries for this podcast episode so people can contact, Teresa Simms directly.


 

Teresa, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your powerful insights on stigma, on language, and the importance of having these multiple and culturally responsive pathways to recovery. Your passion and your advocacy, they're truly making a difference, Teresa, and we appreciate the work that you are doing to uplift and to empower underserved communities in Nevada. Now, we've talked a lot about, between the session and today, we talked a lot about, the mic drop moments. Right. And if there's, I want to ask you if there's anyone who, well, first I'll say there's anyone who could, who could drop a mic and dent the floor. It's you. Theresa's.

Teresa Sands: Right.

Bianca McCall: So.


 

So speaking to, if there's anyone, one person out there who you hope hears the conversation that we had today, not just listens, but here's the conversation that we had today. What do we want to say to that person? What do you want to resonate with that one person who needed to hear from you today?

Teresa Sands: Yeah. Well, first off, I'd like people to know or that one person to know that if you're contemplating, if you're even thinking about recovery, if you're even thinking about improving your life, you're already in recovery, my friend. Congratulations. Welcome to the other side. Like now. Come join us. Let us embrace you. Let us help you. Like there is such a huge community in the state of Nevada, with all these amazing community partners and resources and events like we got you. You are welcome and take care of yourself and don't be afraid to ask for the help.

Bianca McCall: I love it. You're already in recovery. Even if you're listening to this episode, you're already in recovery. Ladies and gentlemen, and all good humans in between, that's a wrap for today's episode. Thank you to everyone who tuned in. And if you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with others who might find this valuable. Stay tuned for more insightful discussions and as always, take great care and be well. We'll see you next time.


 

Thank you for listening to the NOCE, the Opioid Epidemic, Unplugged. We hope that you found this episode compelling and informative, and we ask that you please share this episode with your friends and your colleagues. And if you want to learn more, please visit our website at www.nvopioidcoe.org. the NOCE Dose podcast is brought to you by the Nevada Opioid center of Excellence, or nos. NOCE is dedicated to developing and sharing evidence, informed training, and offering technical assistance to professionals and community members alike. Now, whether you are a care provider or a concerned community, community member, NOCE provides resources to support those affected by opioid use. Funding for this activity was made possible in whole or in part by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, DHHS Director's Office through the Fund for Resilient Nevada Foreign.

Teresa Sands: CASAT Podcast Network. This podcast has been brought to you by the CASAT Podcast Network, located within the Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies a part of the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno. For more podcast information and resources, visit www.casat.org.