Back in March of this year, a Rifle library patron reported to our security guard that a man was apparently sleeping in the bathroom. The guard contacted our staff, and they went carefully to investigate.
The man was not asleep. But he was unresponsive and drooling.
There are people reading this that are already nodding. They’re thinking with despair, “This is my son.” Or, “My grandson.”
Others are thinking, “This could be my wife.” Or, “Me.”
Fortunately, library staff had received Narcan training just weeks before from High Rockies Harm Reduction. They called 911 then used the Narcan and by the time medics arrived, they had already prepared our defibrillator. The EMT told us, “If you hadn’t stepped in, the man would have died.” Libraries save lives.
At the end of 2023, library staff interviewed almost 100 community leaders. The top issue in our county was housing. But the second issue was mental health, encompassing everything from anxiety to substance abuse.
Since 2023, fentanyl has taken many lives across the country. Rifle is one of the hot spots. A single overdose — and overdoses can be very hard to predict — can result in death.
Why is this a library issue? Because the library is where people go when other support systems fail. Responding to substance abuse is not the library’s primary purpose. But the problem showed up at our door. It’s here. It’s real.
We have partnered over the past year with the Garfield County Public Health Department to offer a variety of free public programs focused on mental health, featuring area health professionals and their advice. The programs are sparsely attended. In part, that’s because it’s hard for any program to break through the noise of our culture. It’s also because there continues to be both denial and stigma attached to both mental illness and drug abuse.
Our Rifle Branch Library also provides space to the peer-counseling Discovery Café, which provides various free services. Please pass along the word.
Understand that the issue affects more than addicts. Staff have also spoken to an elderly adult who accidentally mixed medications and suffered an overdose. A young woman, overwhelmed by problems at home and unaware of how to cope, took expired medication she found in her parents’ cabinet, resulting in a serious health crisis.
There are many people who improperly dispose of insulin needles, putting the entire community and environment at risk.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 80,719 people died from overdose in the U.S. last year. In Colorado alone, 2,016 lives were lost. The highest months — March, May and November — each saw up to 100 overdose deaths, while the rest of the months hovered between 95 and 99.9. These numbers are heartbreaking.
Real communities look after each other. Among us there are always people bearing a load beyond their strength. That’s when they need our help. That requires us to both name the issues and openly seek solutions.
Recently I spoke to one patron who admitted to her discomfort seeing people standing in line for addiction services. Weren’t we just enabling them? But research says that these programs greatly reduce the danger of death.
There are many kinds of suffering that most of us would prefer not to notice. But where would you rather have last seen your neighbor or your loved one? In line at a needle exchange or in a casket?
The man was not asleep. But he was unresponsive and drooling.
There are people reading this that are already nodding. They’re thinking with despair, “This is my son.” Or, “My grandson.”
Others are thinking, “This could be my wife.” Or, “Me.”
Fortunately, library staff had received Narcan training just weeks before from High Rockies Harm Reduction. They called 911 then used the Narcan and by the time medics arrived, they had already prepared our defibrillator. The EMT told us, “If you hadn’t stepped in, the man would have died.” Libraries save lives.
At the end of 2023, library staff interviewed almost 100 community leaders. The top issue in our county was housing. But the second issue was mental health, encompassing everything from anxiety to substance abuse.
Since 2023, fentanyl has taken many lives across the country. Rifle is one of the hot spots. A single overdose — and overdoses can be very hard to predict — can result in death.
Why is this a library issue? Because the library is where people go when other support systems fail. Responding to substance abuse is not the library’s primary purpose. But the problem showed up at our door. It’s here. It’s real.
We have partnered over the past year with the Garfield County Public Health Department to offer a variety of free public programs focused on mental health, featuring area health professionals and their advice. The programs are sparsely attended. In part, that’s because it’s hard for any program to break through the noise of our culture. It’s also because there continues to be both denial and stigma attached to both mental illness and drug abuse.
Our Rifle Branch Library also provides space to the peer-counseling Discovery Café, which provides various free services. Please pass along the word.
Understand that the issue affects more than addicts. Staff have also spoken to an elderly adult who accidentally mixed medications and suffered an overdose. A young woman, overwhelmed by problems at home and unaware of how to cope, took expired medication she found in her parents’ cabinet, resulting in a serious health crisis.
There are many people who improperly dispose of insulin needles, putting the entire community and environment at risk.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 80,719 people died from overdose in the U.S. last year. In Colorado alone, 2,016 lives were lost. The highest months — March, May and November — each saw up to 100 overdose deaths, while the rest of the months hovered between 95 and 99.9. These numbers are heartbreaking.
Real communities look after each other. Among us there are always people bearing a load beyond their strength. That’s when they need our help. That requires us to both name the issues and openly seek solutions.
Recently I spoke to one patron who admitted to her discomfort seeing people standing in line for addiction services. Weren’t we just enabling them? But research says that these programs greatly reduce the danger of death.
There are many kinds of suffering that most of us would prefer not to notice. But where would you rather have last seen your neighbor or your loved one? In line at a needle exchange or in a casket?
[This column first appeared in the August 20, 2025 edition of the Sopris Sun.]
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