More Latinos in Minnesota are dying of opioid misuse and new funding aims to help

Roxane Segura is noticing an alarming pattern when she visits with Latinos in Washington County who are struggling with opioid misuse.

“When I was doing assessments, 10 of the 10 people were ashamed to ask for help, because of family members or because of their religion,” said Roxana Segura, a certified community health worker at Wellshare.

Since 1979, Wellshare has used a community health worker model to advance health equity in 16 Minnesota counties. Its goal is a world where your zip code, skin color, and birthplace do not determine your access to health care and ability to be well.

Segura is currently working on a program called Project Salud, which is designed to reduce stigma, promote access to care pathways and provide culturally relevant resources to combat opioid misuse among a growing number of Hispanic/Latino residents calling Washington County home.

“I’m a Mexican and I’ve been living in Minnesota since 1993, so I can tell when the Latino community is moving,” Segura added.

Wellshare’s Project Salud was recently awarded $50,000 as part of Washington County’s opioid settlement funding grants, which will help battle a growing problem.

In 2024, the Sahan Journal examined more than 240,000 death records from Minnesotans who died of an overdose from opioids. They found racial disparities from 2019 to 2023, with Latino Minnesotans 1.5 times more likely to suffer a fatal overdose as compared to white Minnesotans.

“We’re promoting education on opioid use to reduce stigma, increase awareness and provide referrals to the Latino community in Washington County,” Segura said. She admits her work requires starting at the very beginning for some families, citing a recent visit with Cottage Grove residents who did not know what the word opioid meant. “When you don’t even know the meaning of the word, it’s hard to know where we’re standing,” Segura explained. “They could have medications in their cabinets and a teenager with mental health problems and not even know this kid might be using medication the wrong way.”

Clearly, the language barrier is a top priority for Project Salud. Segura says she works to get families to understand there is help. “The lack of language is not a problem because Washington County can provide translators to help them feel confident.”

After language, Segura says stigma is the other main obstacle to treatment for local Latinos. She said opioid abuse is often viewed like domestic abuse; it is happening, but people don’t talk about it.

That’s why Project Salud works to connect with all ages, religions and local Latino leaders to remind them of the problem and the solutions.

“We’re like the bridge, connecting the resources to the Latino community so they can feel more confident and know where to go if there are situations with opioids,” Segura added.

She says the goal is to reach as many people as possible, breaking through misinformation and shame to get help to those who need it most.

“I have to give examples and work differently, but at the same time get everyone in the same boat to believe this is real, this is happening, this is not other cultures, this is happening in the Latino community.”