Fed up with drugs, store owner takes a stand

SHEBOYGAN - Frustrated with the drug problem in Sheboygan and tired of seeing customers dying from overdoses, convenience store owner Dick Hiers decided to bring awareness to the problem.

“I’ve lost more than 30 customers to overdoses,” Hiers said. “The last one that affected me more than anything was Dakota. 19-years-old with a  2-year-old child. She came in here, her parents came in here, her sister comes here. That one affected me the most and I decided something needed to be done to bring some awareness to it.”

Driving by the Northeast Standard BP station on 9th Street and Erie, the signs are hard to miss. The first signs Dick posted read “Heroin is killing people – help wanted” and “Wake up! Your kids are dying — heroin." While the signs grabbed attention, and photos of the signs on social media spread through the nation, Hiers said he was disappointed by the community's response — or more specifically, lack of response.

“The signs have traveled the United States and maybe outside the country, but from the community itself, there has been very little response,” Hiers said. “A lot of people thought it was cute and took pictures of it, but no one was knocking on my door to find out why.”

Hiers has posted about a dozen different signs, all of which draw attention to the issue of drug addiction and heroin use in the community. His hope is that it spreads awareness and encourages others in the community to speak out against the problem, he said.

“I am hoping that this will be a building block and it will expand and get bigger and bigger,” Hiers said. “So people, if they see drug deals going down or lose a neighbor to heroin, that they bug the police department and get some response.”

He's not just frustrated by the community response, but the police response as well. Hiers said the police are often too slow to respond, and he criticized them for taking what he feels is a reactive approach to the drug problem in the community rather than a proactive approach toward prevention.

“We’ve watched deals out here on the driveway for years now, and for us to call (the police) is useless because nothing happens,” he said. “It’s more than frustrating.”

Sheboygan Police Chief Chris Domagalski responded late Friday to Hiers comments, saying that he is also frustrated by the assumption that people make that police are the only answer to the opioid epidemic and that people need to understand how important a community response is.

"A successful approach involves a coordinated community effort focused on preventive efforts such as education on the dangers of drug and alcohol use and abuse and the long-term consequences including problems with physical and mental health, relationships, employment, and the law," Domagalski said. "While many drug addictions start with experimental use of a drug in social situations, others are related to self-medication for underlying mental health disorders or untreated trauma. Thus, there must be sufficient treatment and support for community members who are victims of abuse, related trauma and those with mental health disorders."

However, Domagalski also said that there are different approaches that police may take to a drug deal going down in the community and that while a witness should try and get as many details of an ongoing deal as possible, if its an repeated behavior, police might take different approaches.

"Many of these situations require a problem solving approach that may be more effective than just arrest alone," Domagalski said.

Response to the signs, however, is picking up. Hiers said he is now working with two groups, Samaritan's Hand and the Christian Intervention Program, two faith-based addiction support programs.

“I give them a lot of credit. That’s what we’re trying to do,” Hiers said. “If we have to do it one by one, suddenly it will be two by two, then 12 by 12, until we finally have control over it. It has to stop.”

To raise awareness, Samaritan's Hand is holding a "Prayer at the Pump" at 6 p.m. on June 29.

"I want Hiers to know that we care. I want people to know that Samaritan’s Hand cares," Julie Conard, program administrator at Samaritan’s Hand, said. "While prayer might be laughed at by some people, we see positive results of people finding our faith here and finding healing. We know that prayer is quite something and want to stand with a business owner who is willing to stand up.”

The prayer will center on healing the community and spreading awareness about addiction.

"Healing the community is really where it's coming from. Hopefully other people who maybe don't understand what addiction is open up their hearts and minds to realize it is a hard thing to overcome," Conard said. "It's not easy and wrecks lives. It hurts business owners, people get robbed, and a lot of things happen due to drugs and alcohol."

For more information on Samaritan's Hand, visit www.samaritanshand.org or call 920-254-6922. Find more information on the Christian Intervention Program at www.1posc.org or call 920-467-9090.

Reach journalist Phillip Bock: 920-453-5121, pbock@sheboyganpress.com, or @bockling on Twitter