Introduction
According to the Virginia Department of Health Forensic Epidemiology 1,230 Virginians state-wide are now dead from an opioid overdose in 2017, which was more than in any year in the last decade. The opioid epidemic is at an all time high in Richmond, there was a rate of 20.1 per 100,000 residents that died in the 223,000 population (VDH). There is a terrible increasing trend showing in Richmond and something must be done about it. People, families, and businesses are all being hurt by this epidemic.
I produced a mural representing the issue and painting it in our community around one of the areas with high drug overdose history. The mural express the struggle and pain of an addict and how its presence has distraught our community, enriching the community with awareness to a very relevant issue that hurts us daily and can improve the community with a beautiful painting focusing in on a positive outlook and impact.
Painting a mural allowed me to express my feelings on the issue and hopefully benefit and beautify a community bringing the much needed awareness to this relevant issue. Also I wish for it to find a relief in hurt families or loved ones of those who have passed, showing them someone notices and is working to ensure more people notice and there is free help available throughout the city for them.
An “opioid epidemic” is a tragic flow of poor influencing, and an addictive narcotic. Leaving communities hurt and at a loss with the passing of a handful of members. My mural is an image showing what an opioid epidemic can to do a community and what is around to help people struggling with it and how getting the help is easy to find and will be better for not only the person but also everyone else in their life. I chose to define my interpretation of what a mural is and does because I feel different murals have different purposes and meanings. By doing so, the mural will make a “positive outlook/impact” on the community, meaning it will raise much awareness to this tragedy and hopefully will help hurt families find a form of relief knowing people notice it now and people are trying to make a difference. Also, help those suffering and show them a brighter path to take and or be seen by someone who knows someone else who can relate and need this kind of inspiration for a better life.
The mural’s depiction also has a depressing side showing the true hardship of an addict but will also show a very positive outlook on life through rehabilitation and how one can progress their life. It is displayed in an area with a high history of opioid overdoses, with certainty to bring more awareness to the community. The opioid epidemic is truly a tragic, devastating event in which I wish I could do more to help others that go through such a hard time. The mural is not a cure for drug addicts, and it will not give people a new life but it gives a launching pad for those looking for a new life or a form of inspiration or motivation to do better and get the free help that is offered in Richmond Virginia.
Literature Review
Eighty-five hundred seventy-eight Virginians had an opioid overdose and visited a hospital in 2017, leading to more deaths in any year in the last decade. There is clearly an issue that must be dealt with. According to the Virginia Department of Health, in Richmond 20.1 per 100,000 residents died out of a population of 223,000 (VDH). People can fight opioid epidemics in several ways. According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, In the United States there are well over 14,000 specialized drug treatment facilities that provide therapy, counseling and other services to people that have substance abuse (NIDA). Over the last ten years we have only hit the number of deaths in the thousands twice, 2016 and 2017. In years before starting in 2007 deaths were around 500 then, and slowly increased year by year by the hundreds reaching the thousand mark in 2016. Richmond was at 812 in 2015 then made the leap to 1,138 in 2016. In 2017 there were 1,538 drug overdoses in Virginia, and 1,230 deaths were from this opioid epidemic. So this hasn’t always been a major issue but for some reason it has only gone up under the radar pretty fast (VDH).
Although Opioids are not hard to find because most pharmacies have them, it is now much harder to be prescribed for these drugs due to the addictive feature they have. Ever since most medical facilities have noticed the increase in the demand and death rate relationships between them they became stricter. They are prescribed because they contain chemicals that relax the body and can lessen pain. In most cases opioids are only prescribed for dire pain, heavy coughing and diarrhea. When prescribed and properly used under medical care they can be quite helpful (HHS). What makes people want to use the opioids for non medical related exercises is the very “relaxed and high” feeling it can give someone, similar to illegal drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. Using opioids for non medical exercise is highly not recommended because it is illegal to have possession and or use opioids without a prescription to yourself and they can get very addictive, and people could become quickly attached like smoking a cigarette. The use of opioids in this manner quickly lead to overdoses with a common result of death (NIDA). When digested opioids will leap onto cells in the body’s brain, spine and many other organs while targeting areas that affect human feelings of pain and or pleasure. Once they are on human cells and getting busy they reflect any pain signals that the brain tries to send to the body slows breathing, and has a general calming and anti-depressing effect creating a crave for the user of the drug to only continue and never stop (NAABT).
There are a few routes to treatment and recovery from opioid addiction. Stepping away from opioids, coming clean can take anywhere from days to few or many weeks simply depending on how much you have taken, and how long this abuse has been happening. And even after getting rid of initial symptoms there might be some physical and or mental discomfort that hang around for weeks. Many physicians and doctors recommend anywhere from weeks to months or years of therapy to stay opioid free with a long-term prescribed medication and counseling/talk therapy programs would be the best route. The psychological turmoil and social factors are the key items that could lead to self abuse once again. Stressful times and situations that remind your brain of the pleasure the drug can bring could also bring an eagerness to once again indulge in such exercise.(WEBMD) Two medications I have seen highly recommended to people dealing with getting over the drug are naltrexone and buprenorphine. What they both do is it blocks the cells in the brain from becoming attached to the opioid and gets rid of that addictive force it has. But they are practically only safe when used after the person has completed a medically supervised detox. What happens if you still have traces of the bad opioids in your system could lead to severe withdrawal symptoms. Even with that downside they are still the number one medication in treating opioid abuse, because it is easy to administrate, has few side effects, and low addictiveness and potential for abuse. (AAC) Here in Richmond buprenorphine is slightly more favored due to the bigger impact it has on relief of pain. (VOX) This will help me in painting my mural selecting the location and edit the image in my mind of the murals artistic side.
In response to all of this Richmond VA, after losing many lives to this opioid epidemic a year ago has been nothing but willing to help those struggling. Here in Richmond there are 17 drug addiction centers that are open to anyone for treatment and help those who seek it (only five are completely free). Addiction treatment providers are famously underpaid by health insurers across the United States which leads to big shortages in supply, because it makes it very difficult to start a sustainable addiction treatment facility. What Virginia did was use the big health plan it has control over Medicaid, which covers low-income people and has done so for many residents in Richmond. The Addiction and Recovery Treatment Services (ARTS) began in Richmond Virginia in 2017. Although ARTS is still fairly new, independent evaluations from researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University have already found some promising results. Such as helping show Virginia the big health plan and how to use it to their advantage and also take use of many opportunities surrounding them (VOX).
A question that I thought about a lot was how do murals even make an impact or will mine make a difference at all. It led me to reading a research paper about this and it concluded, even though the research they did shows murals didn’t improve the students’ perceptions of the tested areas some students still had strong feelings toward them. They also went on to conclude that art can be a way to touch people’s lives in a way that nothing else can and if more extensive research is conducted in this area they believe it will reveal a lot more about the ability that art has to inspire positive change (Meluso 34).
Most of my sources come from government organizations who are highly official and qualified with accurate information. The others that aren’t come from local organizations with the people who contributed having extensive background on the topics, and one is a very well conducted research paper from a graduate of Rutgers Liberal Studies program. No I can not find a cure to any drug addiction but what I hope to accomplish is making an impact in the community where this is happening. Using my research and creative abilities I plan to organize and paint a mural that enriches the community with awareness to a very relevant issue that hurts it daily and improve the community with a beautiful painting focusing in on a positive outlook.
Method
The opioid crisis in Virginia has taken 1,230 lives in the past year. I organized and painted a mural that enriches the community with awareness to a very relevant issue that hurts it daily and have improved the community with a beautiful painting focusing in on a positive outlook. Choosing to paint a mural was the best option for me because I will spread awareness and raise empathy with the mural because solving an opioid epidemic is an unrealistic goal being that I am not fully qualified or equipped to do so. I work best being able to use my creativity to the fullest and it was the best way to make a real and immediate impact.
Painting the mural was not an easy task. I had to decide on and be approved for the location I select by whoever the owner is or if it belongs to the city, go down to city hall and ask for permission. I was facing the obstacle of attempting to work with a very unorganized Richmond City staff. I had been forgotten about for a meeting, had to introduce myself twice and I just felt there wasn’t a true interest or even any true effort being put forth towards my goals with them. I had set a meeting with Diane Hayes, head of Cultural Arts in Richmond City which she approved of and once I got there I was told she left and no one knew where she went, I have a string of emails showing our conversation. She then emailed me back and told me to just call her and we can have a phone call meeting instead of in person. It lasted about ten or so minutes as she explained there were no city owned areas in my desired location I could paint on. She then advised me to just go door to door and ask homeowners to paint on the side of their home. I found this phone call meeting very disappointing, and to overcome that obstacle I reached out myself to people who hold former opioid addict group meetings for those who struggled with and or are currently struggling with opioid addiction. Once I informed my expert he said it was a good idea and we began coordinating with them. We set the date for me to come in and show my mural then hang it up in front of the group after speaking to them about my project, goal and what I wanted to be brought out of it. I enjoyed my quick presentation before their meeting and greatly appreciated the reactions I received. I only heard kind words and many compliments from them afterwards and was invited to drop in for more of their meetings.
My variables were the surface and paint. My surface is able to hold the paint and keep it for a long time. I decided to use acrylic paint because it has been proved to last for years when used for outdoor and indoor works of art. I tested out a few routes of how to paint the mural, either with airbrush, rollers, and or brushes. Being that paintings can be damaged from sunlight and humidity I had to take that into consideration for choosing the location and selecting an interior or exterior surface. I had a set drawing and layout of how I want it to be and had spoken with my expert advisor and we believed this is the one we have settled on. My painting of a mural will bring awareness to a phenomena that has been hurting communities and families widely across the nation, especially in Richmond Virginia.
A few weakness of my study were finances, weather, and gaining permission. The market for acrylic paint of various colors and or packages ranged from fifteen to thirty dollars for the amount I needed. I had to come up out of pocket for the paint, brushes and canvas. The estimated monetary cost I had come up with is around 55 to 75 dollars. I ended up spending sixty dollars. I was hoping I could paint it outdoors or on a building but due to lack of time and no one willing to allow it I had to paint on canvas.
In my mural I included the 5 free open rehab centers with their numbers and addresses listed down below. I pondered about adding death rates and or overdoses but due to my image wanting to have a more positive outlook I didn’t want to make it so intense. Listing statistical information about the overdoses or deaths could be a limitation for me because I felt it may not be the best stats to put up but at the same time feel it could’ve been needed to show more attention. My expert and I decided to add a very common quote, “recovery is about progression, not perfection.” We felt that really tied up the overall message, and intent of the mural. I had been collecting my data from reliable and trustworthy sources. For my mural most of the information had come from the Virginia Department of Health’s annual spreadsheet of drug overdoses in Virginia. Specifically showing all cities and counties in Virginia and the amount of opioid overdoses and deaths. I had collected all of this data via computer.
Timeline
I completed my design for the mural with advice from my expert on February 1st. I made an attempt to meet with Diane Hayes, Head of Cultural Arts in the city of Richmond and we set up a meeting but she couldn’t make it. I met with her the next week and that did not give me any real progress. I purchased all my paint, brushes and other materials March 8th. I found my location and how it would be on canvas and put on their wall March 9th. I started the mural on March 9th and completed it on March 15th. March 22nd we took the mural to “The Barbershop” where the meetings were held and hung the mural on the wall.
Results
I painted a mural that depicts the true hardships an addict faces while also showing the realistic and positive outlook that can be attained through free help offered locally in Richmond. While conducting my research I found out Richmond has more opioid related deaths than anywhere else in Virginia and the total Virginian death rate from opioids is above the national state average. I feel I made a great impact and heavily improved my community showing people who have been hurt or are struggling from or with this epidemic that someone notices and wants to bring awareness to it. After presenting my mural to them (the group was around 40-50 people) I received so many kind words and praise. They greatly appreciated my hard work and were very impressed and happy to see a young student wanting to do something for their community and be passionate about it. After attending the meeting and hanging my mural there I plan to attend more every now and then just to go back and listen more to them as they talk about their life and many other issues. It was one of the most significant projects I have ever done, I felt I made a real change to a large number of people that they can tell more people and remember what I did. Being that my goal was to enrich the community with awareness to the very relevant issue of opioids that hurts it daily and improve the community with a beautiful painting focusing in on a positive outlook, I feel I surpassed that. I feel I gave them more inspiration, hope and love to continue to do well and keep fighting the epidemic. They only had many kind words for me after my presentation and hanging of the mural.
Discussion
Personally I feel I made a big change in my community that has benefited a number of people. I was very happy with my results and how everything fell together. I created a work of art that increased awareness and empathy to the opioid epidemic. I also set a new path for someone else looking to do more research on this topic or about it. Finally, I fully believe my goal was met and exceeded.
Conclusion
There is much more research that can be done with this topic. Some could take on the path of how do people obtain opioids so easily, or what is it inside opioids that can kill so many people and why is it included. Another route possible is how do murals really affect a person and or community. Some questions that went unanswered for me were the true cause of the epidemic, and if a mural was truly the best way for me to conduct this project. I had a great time actually conducting this project and I do hope that someone decides to pick up where I left off.
Sources
Lopez. “We Really Do Have a Solution to the Opioid Epidemic – and One State Is Showing It Works.” Vox.com, Vox Media, 10 May 2018,
Meluso, Julia.“Do Murals Really Make an Impression?” Graduate School-Camden (2010): 22-34.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Drug Addiction Treatment in the United States.” NIDA. N.p., Jan. 2018. Web. 06 Dec. 2018.
“The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment.” How Do Opioids Work in the Brain?
“Opioids | Choice For Change.” N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2019.
Public Affairs. “What Are Opioids?” HHS.gov, US Department of Health and Human Services,
“Treatment Options for Prescription Drug Addiction.” WebMD, WebMD, Aug. 2018,
Staff, Reviewed by Editorial. “What Medications Are Used to Assist in Addiction Treatment?” How Do Medications for Addiction Treatment Work? American Addiction Centers, n.d. Web. 02 May 2019.
“Virginia Department of Health.” Go to Virginia Department of Health. N.p., 2018. Web. 17 Dec. 2018.