The Meth and Fentanyl Awareness Conference, organized by Pastor Robert Tso of Victory Life Church in Shiprock and scheduled for Friday, March 10, was sparked by suicides in the community. Since then, it has broadened its purpose to focus on substance abuse in the Navajo community.
Tso said it will be the first such conference on the Navajo Reservation. It will be held 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the chapter house, at milepost 23 on U.S. Highway 64.
“Their loved ones were passing away, some of them 22 years old and 30, some dying of exposure,” Tso said.
Without autopsies or actual determination of cause of death, many questions have remained unanswered. Families and the community wanted to know “if it was fentanyl related” Tso said in a phone interview.
“We have drug dealers in our community, and I work with men who have substance-abuse problems. They say, ‘Yeah, Robert, we’re taking it.’”
After 27 years as a pastor and community advocate, Tso is well known as a source for support and guidance.
Tso, 72, provided a Christian-based drug and alcohol treatment center in Shiprock for 15 years. “We closed it down ’cause I got up a little bit in age. And when you’re dealing with criminal-minded individuals you gotta be on your toes,” he said.
“They were all living inside with me, so I never went home,” Tso said. “The most I ever had was 23. He was the only staff, but said leadership was built up from those who came in to his program. From a 90-day program the leaders – those who were serious – would emerge.
Tso’s “The Victory Home” was the only drug and alcohol treatment center located on a reservation in the United States, according to the pastor. The only funding came from the congregation and families of those being helped. No grants or help from agencies, including the Navajo Nation, were used.
“We refused money because we could keep it Christ-centered – it was a men’s Christian home,” Tso emphasized. “These guys are like in church 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Tso is optimistic about the conference being a positive event and expects a good turnout. He said they have been advertising and promoting it widely and have “have a very good lineup of speakers.”
Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe will host and Capt. Kevin Burns with the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office will speak. Tso said he was informed by a recent email that Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren would not be speaking, but Vice President Richelle Montoya would fill in.
Capt. Leonard Redhorse with Navajo Nation Police also will be a speaker.
Tso said that the only treatment facility in Shiprock is Navajo Regional Behavioral Health.
Tso’s treatment approach has simply been with sobriety and Christian teaching. “There’s no 12-step program, there’s no agreement that I’m an alcoholic,” he said. Certain treatments use prescribed medications to get off drugs or alcohol, but that was never his approach.
“But the way things are going now, I’m just glad to see people set free from everything they’re doing,” Tso said. “Whatever works – I’m all for it.”
When asked about an increased substance abuse problem within the Navajo population, Tso said alcohol is still a significant problem. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, a new addiction has gained traction – the consumption of diluted hand sanitizer. He said fentanyl slipped in to the community during the pandemic and meth is still a devastating drug.
Tso said they have created a map that represents the trail of drugs from China and India into the U.S. Southwest. It will be on display at the conference.
San Juan County Partnership Executive Director Ann Krutsky said the goal is to achieve “increased community education on the dangers of meth and fentanyl.” Amanda Evans will present a Narcan training at the end of the day at the conference.
Other presenters include San Juan County Partnership, Veterans Outreach Program, Capacity Builders, DEA Administration, Victory Life Church, Behavioral Health and personal testimonies.
The conference is free and open to the public.
