Interview: George Floyd’s Addiction Prompts Conversations About Stigma

Our Program Director, Allie Carey, was interviewed alongside Angela Reed, Director of Community Services and Training at Turning Point Inc. and member of our Healing Together Advisory Council, for a radio piece by Racial Reckoning: The Arc of Justice.

Feven Gerezgiher reports:

“In the Derek Chauvin murder trial, the defense attributed George Floyd’s death in part to his substance abuse. Allie Carey is with the Steve Rummler HOPE Network. She says communities of color are often criminalized for substance use. ‘It can still come as a surprise sometimes, the degree to which substance use continues to be framed as a personal choice, a personal failing, a moral failing, and used to justify a huge range of outcomes for the people who get impacted by it,’ says Carey.

Despite this, Angela Reed says over the last year she has seen more people under the age of 25 seeking treatment for addictions. Reed is with Turning Point, an established North Minneapolis treatment center where George Floyd was once a client. She says the past year has brought open conversations around addiction.”

Listen to the full piece here:

Racial Reckoning: The Arc of Justice is a journalism initiative, created by Ampers, KMOJ, and the Minnesota Humanities Center, covering the trials of the former Minneapolis police officers charged with the murder of George Floyd, the community’s response, and the changes needed to create a more just society. Learn more at https://racialreckoningmn.org/