Recovering women form group to help people with addiction

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Rochelle Daigle knows too many people who died this year from an overdose.

Her close friend, Kristen, died in late January. A woman she knew returned home from a birthday party to find her fiancé dead. And a friend died within weeks of bringing her newborn baby home from the NICU - she had been in recovery, but relapsed during the coronavirus pandemic.

These stories are becoming more common.

According to the East Baton Rouge Coroner’s Office, 210 people have died of overdoses this year as of Nov. 16 - already close to doubling last year’s count of 128.

Daigle, along with friends Anna Vicknair and Halley Blackwell, decided to do something about it. They organized a group called Agape Angels a little more than a month ago to care for those in the throes of addiction - especially those who feel they have been left behind.

All three women are in recovery from addiction and know what it’s like to be excommunicated from the people they love while battling drug or alcohol dependency.

“We’ve all been in positions where our families didn’t speak to us, of getting into a detox or treatment center and having to ask somebody to bring us,” Daigle said. “Not only have we tapped out our relationship with them, but now we need toiletries, or a ride.”

“We’re the people that you can call with no judgement,” she added.

What began as friends sending money via Venmo back-and-forth for toiletries or gas cards has rapidly expanded to a network of more than 70 volunteers, a Facebook page with more than 1,200 likes and the beginnings of 501(c)(3) paperwork to become a registered nonprofit organization.

“We said we want to turn our pain into passion,” Vicknair said. “ It gets hard - it’s hard when you lose someone like that and to be able to stay sober through it.”

The group, working through Facebook Messenger, answers each text and sets out on “Angel Missions”: getting people safe rides with a sober companion to detox or treatment centers; equipping them with the overdose-reversing drug Narcan; and providing them with toiletries like body wash, toothbrushes and razors.

“We wanted to find a way to get to people before they died,” Daigle said.

She says that, at many treatment and detox centers, patients have to bring unopened and alcohol-free supplies with them, so Agape Angels has prepared their “Angel Packs” accordingly - one for detox, one for treatment and one for homeless people. They also station themselves at these centers and wait for people to come to them.

“Whatever you need, we’re meeting your need,” Blackwell said. “If you need unopened hygiene products you can’t ask for money for, we got you. If you need a ride to treatment with a sober person, we’ll take care of the gas.”

In five weeks, they estimate they have transported around 50 people to rehabilitation services.

The Angels also receive Narcan donations, which Daigle said is critical. She admitted some people may not think it’s a good idea to hand out Narcan - which has been criticized as an enabling measure for people to continue to use drugs - but that she understands not everyone is ready to get sober when she meets them.

“It’s really not for me to judge,” she said. And, equipping someone with Narcan leaves her with the sense of relief that “maybe some family is not going to suffer tonight.”

The group also recently began to accept clothing donations so they can help people emerging from treatment centers who may have gained a few pounds during their stint in rehab, or for those recently released from jail who have nothing. For those who are afraid or unable to ask family and friends for help, even small things can “get them to the next level,” Daigle said.

“We were them at one point in time,” Blackwell said. “It helps us not forget where exactly we came from.”

The upcoming holidays will be hard on people struggling with addiction, Daigle predicts. 2020 has already been a catastrophic year for their community.

“They have all this unemployment money, they have the meetings shut down that we attend,” Vicknair said. “It’s been devastating.”

On Thanksgiving Day, the Angels are hosting a meal at a church for those who feel they can’t return home - a gathering they hope will keep people from feeling isolated and lost.

The group’s mottos include “recover loudly” and “nobody has to die today” - rallying cries that remind people to be courageous when asking for help and to remember life is precious.

“We know what happens if you keep using, but what can happen if you don’t?” Daigle said. “People think (those with addictions) will never change, but that’s just not true. If you love them, they will see a way out.”