With heat pushing three digits, Trent Titus, 39, fills his car with Gatorade, water, hot dogs and condiments and seeks out places most of us would rather ignore.
He stands at the top of a ridge and whistles, “Hey! I’ve got some food and water up here.”
A moment later, heads emerge from a hidden encampment. People eagerly grab a hot dog and some refreshment.
Titus knows most of these people suffer from addiction. He works as a Peer Support Specialist for Jefferson County Public Health.
He wants to meet people where they are, build their trust and ultimately help them conquer their addiction.
The conversation goes something like this:
Titus: “Are you ready for treatment?”
Contact: “No, not yet, but I’ve been thinking about it.”
Titus: “Good. I’m going to ask you every time, but when you are ready let me know. Let me help bridge that gap. Let me be that person for you.”
Hard life preparation for tough work
“I came from nothing, so I can relate,” Titus said. “As a young teen, I felt hopeless. I expected to be dead or in prison at an early age.”
Instead, Titus became a parent at an early age. He was 17 when his first daughter was born. One day when his daughter was 4 she looked up at him and said, “Daddy, promise you will never leave me.”
“Holding her on my lap, as I’m looking down at my youngest daughter as a newborn, I said, ‘I promise.’ That was my ‘Aha moment,’ and a promise I will never break.”
Titus says his daughters motivated him to change then, and now, ages 22 and 17, they continue to inspire him.
He has a degree in addiction studies, certifications as a recovery mentor, peer support specialist, and mental health wellness specialist, along with 13 years of experience in the addiction field, but Titus says life prepared him best for this work.
“I can reach a certain culture that the average person can’t,” he said. “I understand the pain. I’ve lost loved ones to the streets. I lost loved ones to addiction.”
Day to day
On the heels of the pandemic, the whole nation faces what the Centers for Disease Control calls the worst substance abuse and overdose epidemic in our nation’s history. Jefferson County follows the dark trend.
“Fentanyl is a huge issue in our community,” said Titus.
The drug Naloxone revives overdose victims. It comes in a nasal spray, Narcan, and a higher dose in injectable form, Zimhi.
He has brought 2,000 doses of Naloxone to businesses throughout the community, employers, hotels and motels, schools, law enforcement, parole and probation; and provided training for how to use it.
He frequently meets with various committees to address addiction in the county. When Public Health launched a fentanyl awareness campaign, Titus suggested and designed the billboard in Madras on U.S. 97. The message reads: Fentanyl is the #1 cause of death for Americans ages 18-45.
Still, day-to-day contact with individuals make up the heart and soul of his job. He doesn’t ask for names, although he knows many of their names. He makes it clear he is not an arm of the law. He’s not there to report them or turn them in. He’s there to help.
“As for me, I will forever advocate for my people. I see hope in every single person,” Titus said. “At the end of the day we are all human. We are all one circumstance away from being in this position.”
Successes that inspire
Recently, Titus took a call from someone he helped a while ago. Then the young man was 17 years old, addicted to opioids and marijuana. People in the system had labeled him hopeless. One day Titus heard the young man performing rap music.
“I rap as well,” he said. Titus brought his portable studio, and they started jamming together. “He told his whole story through his song. I could relate. He’s not without hope. This kid had talent.”
Encouraged with a new goal to become an artist, the young man made changes in his life. He phoned Titus from Los Angeles to tell him about his new record deal. “I wouldn’t be here without you,” he told Titus.
“Every success story is a blessing,” Titus said. This week four people decided to enter recovery programs.
Tentative hope for the community
Titus says the county doesn’t have the resources it needs to successfully tackle the growing substance abuse problem here.
He recognizes issues of the unhoused and addiction divide the community.
“We need a lot of effort and collaboration from all players involved,” Titus said.
Not letting the larger problems overwhelm him, Titus focuses on helping one person at a time.
“I’m very blessed and fortunate for Dr. Baker, Public Health and the county giving me the opportunity, the trust and a bigger platform to do what I do,” said Titus. “It’s not really work when you love what you do.”
