tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her @traceyh415 Twitter profile | Pikagi

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

@traceyh415

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tweets are my own; Naloxone! author-The Big Fix. Featured in The NYT & NPRs Fresh Air, anti racist, MH issues, repped by @lynnjohnstonlit

West Coast

Joined September 2011

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

Real cancel culture is getting locked up for a petty drug case, being too poor to get lawyer, having your public defender convince you to agree to a felony. Then society tell you where you can live, whether or not you can vote & what jobs you can hold for the rest of your life.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

My friend gave birth in prison while shackled to the gurney. They let her hold the baby for 45 mins then took her newborn away. She was in there for a non violent offense and never got to see her child again. Her child was adopted out as infants are in high demand.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

I know rules vary from prison to prison. I just wonder if that chid even knows that her mother didn’t want to give her up. The window for reunification was up when she got out and the guilt ate her up to where she returned to drugs.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

Ppl who have not been homeless cannot understand what it’s like to have your belongings, including ID, thrown out. You can’t stay in a hotel or many shelters w out one. It makes you literally stuck outside. And you can’t get the birth certificate to get a new one w out an address

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

1 year

You can do nice things for unhoused folks and folks with addiction issues without ever taking a picture.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

@RACH4_theSTARZ A lot of ppl on here worried about a used vibrator but don’t think enough about where the dick has been

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

My friend's roommate died this week from fent in his cocaine. The person was an occasional user of drugs so his circle of friends are blindsided. This seems to be common now in the Bay Area. While there are narcan and test strips, either way you have to go slow.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

@VeryFineHat The guy that greets you when you move into sober living

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

1 month

When anyone asks me to do anything outside my job description #ShogunFX

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

If you’re ready for a good cry #harmreduction works

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

If I decided to relapse, it would take me 15 minutes to get 5 different types of drugs. If I needed to get help for said relapse, it would take me days to get any kind of service. But everyone blames the person. They “just aren’t trying”.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

5 years

Just so we are clear, I shot heroin, cocaine, and other drugs daily for 8 years while homeless. I now run six million dollars worth of public health programs for the county. The person you are treating like shit in a clinic can one day become your boss. That’s actual happened.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

Yes this is about me. I still think about how a private attorney could’ve easily gotten me off for my drug case.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

23 years of sobriety today. Thank you to all my supporters.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

As a former street based sex worker, I can tell you that many police officers used their badges to get sexual favors from other SWErs and public officials used similar ploys.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

Harm Reduction works

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

24 years of sobriety today/tonight. My thanks to both #harmreduction and the #recovery community for making it this far.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

Harm Reduction saved my life.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

Jail *might* “save someone’s life” or they might die of an overdose within a few days of leaving like so many of my friends have. Jail is not treatment, is not humane, and not cost effective. The fact that a subset of ppl get sober there doesn’t make it a viable solution.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

1 year

Today marks 25 years of sobriety. I never thought I would get off drugs and make it out of the Tenderloin yet here we are. Sober is just one way to recover. Do what works for you.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

When I was 27, I was in jail. I never signed a lease until I was 32. Graduated college at 35 & 37. Had my first kid at 37 Bought a house at 38. Had my last kid at almost 41. Got a book published at 45. I know the future seems bleak. There is plenty of life ahead of you.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

@mykola The vast majority of rehabs do not work. This drives up the cost of private health insurance, as well as choking out other effective treatments that aren’t as “popular”.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

Interviewer: "Can you explain this gap in your resume?" Me: "Heroin..." awkward silence.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

Requiring that the unhoused be sober to get housing is cruel. I used drugs to cope with being unhoused. Can you imagine having no place to sleep, all your belongings in a backpack, wondering if you will be assaulted if you close your eyes- all of this while sober? It's too much.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

I used to shoot heroin in my thighs, with my pants pulled down, in full view of the public. I strugged to survive. I have accomplished many things- got two degrees, bought a home, started a family- yet I can never shake how it felt to be disposable.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

I was told when I was on drugs that the world would be better off when I died. Here I am, the lead author on a $5 million dollar project to fund mental health services in my county. My life had value. I’m a mother & friend. Every life is worth saving.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

When I was unhoused, I injected on the train a few times. This was because I had no bathroom access, no safe place to go, and I was about to use the bathroom on myself from sickness. I feel for everyone in this scenario except the person who felt it necessary to put PWUD on blast

@JCAndersonNYC

Jason Curtis Anderson

3 years

Open air heroin use on the subway.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

I have overdosed. I was revived by a friend. People who use drugs are the real first responders in overdose death prevention yet today there is a Naloxone shortage while boxes of expensive narcan expire on shelves. To put it bluntly, our national priorities are fucked up.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

I am both excited and sad that this tweet resonated with so many people. I am just one person telling one story. There are millions of people, mostly Black and Brown folks, who have experienced this and much worse.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

Yes I do have a Naloxone tattoo over my track marks

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

The Harm Reduction movement being turned into a “field” which is now filled with many people that don’t even fully agree with Harm Reduction was not something I would’ve predicted twenty years ago.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

How can you do Harm Reduction work when you never get out to see the conditions in which our folks live?White savior complex is heavy in the the management of orgs these days. All your equity training can’t undue your detachment from the community.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

The same people who complain about people who use drugs to cope with homelessness are buying wine from Trader Joe’s to cope with shelter in place.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

1 year

The rehab industry is an unregulated cash grab where there are no agreed upon measures of success. Sending your loved one to a facility may mean tens of thousands of debt & the person may not even end up better off. On top of that, they are at higher risk of death if they relapse

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gryphoneer

1 year

YOU THERE. YES, YOU. WHAT'S A LITTLE-KNOWN FACT ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION THAT WOULD MAKE OTHER PEOPLE LOSE THEIR SHIT?

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

Covid Tests, Fentanyl Test strips, and Plan B are this summer’s hottest accessories.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

5 years

@MerrillBarr Elizabeth Warren says “thank you” when she gets in front of you in traffic, accompanied by a gentle wave of appreciation as she knows the way forward.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

When I was kicking heroin on the floor of my cell, one of the women told me that someone had died in there a few months prior. They gave me a plastic bag to puke in. At one point, I seriously considered suffocating myself. Locking people up for having a drug problem is torture.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

Please hold...crying 😭

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

5 years

@TrashyeWest @lightskinhxc Xanax and a steady diet of gummy worms

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

I feel like all service providers should be required to do a rotation in jails or prisons to see first hand 1. How racist this country still is 2. How fucked up our drug laws are 3. How we abandon ppl to these institutions. Going to jail changed my whole mind frame.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

Crying in my coffee 😭.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

8 months

Rehabs are the only business with a 7-10% success rate that blame clients. A big reason is treatment is not customized to the needs of the client. It’s generally whatever bed is available. Many rehabs don’t use evidence based treatments, have underpaid staff, limited oversight.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

1 year

I have been sober 25 years. Harm Reduction saved my life. The only thing harm reduction “enabled” was my survival from a multitude of deadly medical conditions that killed many of my friends.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

@KennyUnfazed “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Yeah so about that Joel... also TAX HIM

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

I know everyone can use a bit of good news. In our staff meeting today, we were told our city is actually (as in happening now) taking millions of dollars from the police budget and that money is going into behavioral health services.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

I was injecting drugs outdoors one day when I ran into a friend from high school. Instead of making me feel like shit, he made me feel like I was still a person he cared about. I never forget that kindness.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

@Amy_Siskind @dianegreco In my heart, I don’t believe they believe climate change is a hoax. I believe they believe their wealth will insulate them from the impact of climate change therefore they continue to push false narratives to obtain more wealth.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

Mental health treatment is expensive and hard to obtain for most people. Drugs are relatively cheap. So don’t be surprised when people find their own way to manage their mental health the best they can by using whatever drugs are available.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

He’s not on here but my husband got admitted to grad school to be a special education teacher. I had to tell someone.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

The ppl who use cannabis to get off and stay off other drugs/alcohol are changing the recovery landscape.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

Sex workers are out here selling nudes to feed the homeless meanwhile a program director making a good salary w benefits sends out a dry ass newsletter “in solidarity”. Just saying. Y’all are not the same.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

@mykola Outpatient treatment for one. Many systems have abandoned OP treatment that cost less and can be more effective for 28 “spin dries”. Also many rehabs are based on the 12 steps and do not allow patients to be on medications for recovery.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

I hate when interviewers would try to belittle me or shock me by bringing up “you used to turn tricks for drugs…” Actually I turned tricks because I could make more in twenty mins then I made an entire day at my old service industry job -THAT is part of the problem.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

I think the public wants desperately to find a villian in the overdose crisis- be it Purdue Pharma (who does suck), a drug seller, etc. It is much more difficult to look at a racist drug war, a poisoned supply, lack of economic opportunites, and the fact that drugs feel good.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

1 year

Years ago, when Naloxone was not as available, I sent a bunch of these multi dose vials to folks to middlemen that lived in trap houses. One guy in particular reversed 44 overdoses in an 18 month period. Ppl want to keep their friends alive.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

5 years

@BuzzFeed Pay the actual author @1followernodad

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

I used to do enough opioids to kill a baby rhino on a daily basis. I’ve had a friend do four times my daily dose and not die. This man was conscious and talking. This is victim blaming. The police murdered him. Whether or not he had drugs in his system was irrelevant.

@MattWalshBlog

Matt Walsh

4 years

BOMBSHELL: Document filed today shows the Hennepin County Medical Examiner concluded that George Floyd had fatal levels of Fetanyl in his system and his death would have been ruled an overdose under normal circumstances

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

I hope Harm Reduction, SUD counselors, & MH peer workers create unions in the coming years because they are grossly underpaid.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

I got a message from a person whose spouse is close to 80 and is being denied an increase to their pain meds. At this point, I don’t even know what to say. The cruelty of allowing these patients to remain in pain has got to stop. Pain meds aren’t causing this current OD crisis!

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

I don’t bring up too many personal things here but my husband just finished his BA at 42 and has applied to grad school to be a teacher.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

6 years

My book “The Big Fix” was featured by @NYMag as an essential book about the #opioidcrisis

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

My rehab stay in 1998 was $6,000 for three months. My friend went to rehab in 2019. His insurance was billed close to $90k for 28 days. He relapsed when he left, I didn’t. These costs are arbitrary, not based in science, and suck resources away from more effective treatments.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

5 years

This is me-homeless in 1995. I was strung out on heroin, searching for a vein in my legs to inject drugs. Many people told me the world would be a better place if I died. Sober 21 years, my children and the community at large would disagree. Thanks to Harm Reduction, I’m alive.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

I am not anti 12 step. I am pro whatever works. I go to 12 step, I have a sponsor, I have worked all 12 steps 3x. Sober 22 yrs. That being said, 12 step is not treatment. It’s a mutual support society. We need a menu of treatment options, not a one size fits all approach.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

5 years

@choo_ek I’m really good at survival. Overcame drug addiction, abuse, Hep A,B, C, being exposed to TB, incarceration, homelessness, and nine years of college while working full time. I have a great life now as a public health professional with three cute kids. I’m proud of my resilience.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

@TaraTomahawk I’ve been homeless and worked at a non profit that did gift collections for clients. Many times people donated what they wanted to give versus what was requested. Also why hold on to something your kid may not use or need when they do need food

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

Just curious- how many of y’all had a parent with drug or alcohol issues?

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

8 months

Methadone is a very effective medication. It’s the clinic that’s the problem. Treating ppl like criminals, holding the dose randomly, forcing ppl who don’t need/want it into groups or counseling, the inability to spilt doses for less sedation, the hours, the policies are awful.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

@michaelsheen @UKChange I binge watched this series today. I work in public health in the US. You will probably never see this but I want to say I actually laughed out loud for the first time in awhile. So thank you for that.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

1 year

I took my two older kids with me to get my 25 year chip. My son was so proud of me and wanted to sit with me. It really made my heart full.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

When I was worried about how medical professionals would treat me, I avoided seeing them. At one point, I had to be rushed into surgery for an infection because I was more concerned about being judged than I was dying. People who use drugs need compassionate care free of stigma

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

Do people not realize how hard it is to get disability benefits? Our clients are told they will *automatically* get denied the first time, takes years, that they probably will need a speciality attorney. I've had clients die before they got accepted, told they weren't sick enough

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

The public has been fed this idea that rehab is THE solution for problematic drug use. There are other options- MAT, housing programs, outpatient, groups, peer support, contingency management, solution based therapy, naltrexone, to name a few.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

If Matthew Perry spent 9 million dollars to recover from addiction- I have a ton of questions. Cause it sounds like unethical places bled him dry, especially when he uses 12 step language (and that program is free).

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

1 year

I don’t know why it is controversial in the recovery community to acknowledge that drugs felt good and I miss being fucked up. I won’t do them because of the consequences but it’s disingenuous to act like you weren’t an active participant in choosing to partake.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

8 months

4-5 years ago an addiction Dr said in a meeting “Tracey Helton thinks buprenorphine should be in a candy dish so anyone who wants it should be able to get it.” As time goes by, this is one of the most accurate statements about me I’ve heard. A true compliment.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

My loans were forgiven 😭

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

1 year

Going out of your way to tell a person seeking recovery that they aren’t “sober” or “clean” because they are on a medication is a dick move. This essentially killed one of my friends. Ppl in NA told him he wasn’t clean, he got off methadone, relapsed, and died within a few weeks.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

“Well if they get on bupe (or methadone) they might be on it for the rest of their lives!” AND?! I’m on psych meds for the rest of my life. Focus on your own self and stay out of how people recover.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

Ppl who love to drink to excess enjoy explaining to others why they shouldn’t take drugs.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

Lectured at UC Berkeley to a few hundred folks. 22 units of narcan given out and I stayed for almost an hour after class to answer questions

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

So much of addiction treatment is based around a white male Christian "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality. This doesn't work for large segments of the the population yet those beds are their only option. We need alternatives- trauma informed models.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

Is the person “treatment resistant” or are they being offered something they don’t want/had a negative experience with in the past?

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

I have been evicted before. It is a violent act. It is MUCH harder to get into housing once you have been evicted. After that eviction, it was a full 8 years before my name could be on a lease. We have to prevent evictions if we want to end homelessness.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

The two most effective tools for de-escalation I’ve ever seen are snacks & offering a person a place to sit. You have no idea what a client went through before they got there. Many are hungry, tired, hot/cold, & treated like garbage everywhere they go. Give them things they need.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

A friend of mine died this week. He died what he loved doing- drugs. He never wanted to stop and i'm not mad at him. He drove that car until the wheels fell off. I honor his memory by respecting his life choices. He saved many lives with naloxone, was super smart, and hilarious.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

When I was homeless, I got my period with no money to pay for tampons. I just laid on the sidewalk, covered in blood. I was paralyzed by my situation. Not single person offered or tried to help me yet I was in plain sight. That incident changed me forever.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

The work of Dr Carl Hart scares large segments of the population, especially the recovery community, because it challenges the idea that drug use is a progressive downward spiral. They are entrenched in that narrative. 1/2

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

Can anyone just make a movie where someone had problematic opioid use, got on methadone, and was relatively happy? Like maybe they are inconvenienced by the clinic schedule but otherwise okay?

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

1 year

I was 25 years old here. Homeless, disconnected from family, addicted to heroin, injecting in my legs in plain view all over San Francisco. I’m grateful for my life today in recovery. I try to use my experiences to help others, to inform public policy, and provide a voice.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

2 years

After a month of being stable on methadone, my friend has -restarted medical care, stopped using cocaine, re engaging with family, deep cleaned her apartment, returned to work, and gotten back into a hobby. She says the dealers tell her “we miss you mommy” when they see her out.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

I see my sobriety as an extension of Harm Reduction. For me, remaining abstinent keeps me safe. I have tried many combinations of recreational use. None of those worked, ended in self harm. Abstinence is a good choice for me. My recovery is not superior, just what works for me.

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tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

Sex work prepared me for two hour work meetings where I have to pretend to be interested.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

5 years

I quit drugs over 21 yrs ago. I loved drugs. Loved them- at times more than I loved myself. I truly believed I could never stop. I thought I’d be a Jane Doe pulled out of a hotel. Currently, my children are harassing me for $5 for chips 😂. Life has changed for me. It can for you

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

In the pandemic, we have LOTS of folks who have relapsed but are currently hiding it because they don’t want people in their lives to be “disappointed” in them. They are risking their lives, using alone, because of stigma. How messed up is that?

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

I got no bail for a 1/4 gram of heroin for personal use while I rotted in jail for a month for a probation hearing but a fuckface that crossed state lines and killed two ppl can have his white supremacist fan club bail him out.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

4 years

I hate when ppl in recovery dismiss having enjoyed drug use. It’s disingenuous to me. Like yeah, it sucks when you are dependent and consequences roll in. I enjoyed my drugs until I didn’t. Opioids, in particular, kept me from commiting suicide. Maybe y’all had shitty drugs? 🤷🏻‍♀️

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

There’s a stereotype that people who use drugs are dishonest but have you seen the police? A video will show one thing and they will say the exact opposite happened. Maybe the police have lied about us too. Maybe we aren’t the problem.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

I've been arrested 11 times, spent 9 1/2 months of my life in jail. I was no "violent criminal". I was homeless and addicted to drugs. If you can't see what a fucking waste of resources & how problematic that is, I don't have time to argue with you in comments. Blocked.

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@traceyh415

tracey helton mitchell MPA she/her

3 years

Using opioids probably saved me from killing myself as a young adult. They were the only thing that felt good in my life.

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