My detox in jail was horrific. Let’s help others avoid that hell.

Jerome Maynor, a street outreach worker for Central Outreach Wellness Center, Friday, May 24, 2024, in the Hill District. Maynor is in recovery from opioid use disorder while helping others who are still actively using drugs. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)“PublicSource is an independent nonprofit newsroom serving the Pittsburgh region. Sign up for our free newsletters.”First-person essay by Jerome Maynor, as told to Venuri Siriwardane, PublicSource May 28, 2024It’s been more than three years since I detoxed in the Allegheny County Jail.I’ll never forget what it felt like: I’d lie awake in a cold sweat while experiencing withdrawal from methadone. Waves of nausea washed over me and I vomited often. Pain radiated throughout my body and my hands shook during the worst of it.I counted the days since I last felt normal: I hadn’t slept through the night in 29 days, and hadn’t been able to keep food down in 31. At one point, I developed COVID-19 and spent two weeks in isolation. There were moments when I thought I was going to die — that I’d never see my children and grandchildren again.I was 71 years old and had suffered from opioid use disorder for most of my life. I...