Breaking the Cycle

Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald and Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz are partnering together on a new local show called “Breaking the Cycle.” Featured on PACTV’s government channels, the show discusses the drug & opioid epidemic affecting Plymouth County and the state.

This ongoing series will feature new episodes each month to provide information about the Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force and the steps McDonald and Cruz are taking with local and state law enforcement to address this serious issue.

The show is produced as a community service by PACTV. PACTV is a nonprofit organization serving the towns of Duxbury Kingston Pembroke and Plymouth. For more information visit pactv.org

In this eleventh episode, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz & Sheriff Joe McDonald meet Reintegration Advocate, Jim Frazier of the Plymouth County Sheriffs Department. Employment reduces recidivism. Plymouth County is the first to have a CORI friendly job fair with employers willing to give people a second chance hosted by the Sheriff, D.A., and Brockton’s Mayor Carpenter.

In this tenth episode, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz & Sheriff Joe McDonald meet Susie Lordi, founder & President of 24 Hr. Power, Inc. to have an honest conversation about addiction & life with sobriety. Learn about Graffiti for Recovery as art therapy, giving back through painted blankets for the homeless, and more fun activities for kids in recovery.

In this ninth episode, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz & Sheriff Joe McDonald meet Vicky Ruvido, Senior Southeast Regional Manager with the organization Learn to Cope & discuss grandparents raising grandchildren in families affected by addiction.

In this eighth episode, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz & Sheriff Joe McDonald meet Walter Gangl & Jay Monaghan of the Knights of Columbus to discuss the work they do with the “Friends Don’t Let Friends Die Campaign”, an initiative to prevent overdose from drug addiction.

In this seventh episode, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz meets with Tori Ferrari, Director of Bloom: A Place for Girls and the work they do with teen girls and their families through difficult times.

In this sixth episode, “Breaking the Cycle” features “SportSmart”, a documentary about athletes who suffer concussions or injuries, who develop opioid addictions after being prescribed with them. Featuring the Plymouth County District Attorney with the Drug Abuse Task Force. Produced by Aaron Thibeault.

In this fifth episode, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz meets with Ed Jacoubs, Director of Grants and Sponsored Projects at Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office alongside Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri & East Bridgewater Police Chief Scott Allen. The four men discuss the opioid epidemic and the importance of data collection and the need for accurate statistics as law enforcement combats the epidemic.

In this fourth episode, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz meets with the Public Safety Subcommittee Chairs, Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri & East Bridgewater Police Chief Scott Allen to discuss their subcommittee’s work on Project Outreach, a collaboration between various public safety agencies & healthcare providers that addresses the opiate crisis & drug addiction.

In this third episode, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz & Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald meet with Conni Dilego, Director of Elder Affairs for the Town of Plymouth as they discuss the impact of the drug epidemic affecting grandparents and the steps taken to raise their grandchildren.

In this second episode, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz & Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald meet with Jody Hensley of the Massachusetts Prevention Alliance about the upcoming ballot initiative regarding the commercialization of marijuana.

The first episode is hosted by Donna Rodriguez, PACTV’s Outreach and Educational Access Coordinator.

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The number of opioid related overdose deaths in Plymouth County have decreased from last year.

2014 - 110 deaths
2015 - 174 deaths
2016 - 190 deaths
2017- 202 deaths
2018- 151 deaths
2019- 176 deaths
2020- 185 deaths
2021- 167 deaths
2022- *125 deaths/DPH data- 190 deaths

Opioids include heroin, opioid-based prescription painkillers and other unspecified opioids. This data was taken from the Mass State Police, the Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force Database, PCO and the Department of Public Health (DPH). This data is preliminary and subject to change, as a large number of death certificates have yet to be assigned a final cause of death code.

*2022 Data was taken from the PCDATF Database, consistent with data collected by PCO and MSP. DPH numbers are inflated showing an additional 65 fatal overdoses. This number reflects the number of fatal overdoses that occurred outside of Plymouth County that were transported to a hospital within Plymouth County.