TruckBeat

On this episode of TruckBeat, the team heads to neighborhoods north and east of downtown Knoxville to learn more about how ZIP code impacts health and well-being. We learn about an effort by East Knoxville organization Five Points Up to understand and combat the forces that drive the neighborhood’s health disparities. And we meet a group of women in the Parkridge neighborhood that’s determined to beat the ZIP code odds. There’s a direct link between where we live and our health. In fact, many studies have found ZIP code is a better predictor of physical and mental health, quality of life and life expectancy than even DNA. The reason? Access – to clean air and water, transportation, education, safe housing and jobs. Living in a walkable neighborhood, with sidewalks and public parks, also makes a big difference. So does race. These so-called “social determinants of health” mean Americans who live just a few miles apart may face dramatically different health outcomes during their lifetimes. “In some cases, life expectancy can differ by as much as 20 years in neighborhoods only about five miles apart from one another,” according to research from the Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Society and Health. This piece was produced by Matt Shafer Powell, Jess Mador and Leslie Snow of TruckBeat, part of Localore: Finding America, a national production of AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio. Find more stories at NPR and at Finding America. TruckBeat is #FindingAmerica.

"Roane County is such a beautiful part of the country, with lush mountains and beautiful rivers. But we do have a terrible problem here, and it's opiate addiction." In East Tennessee's Roane County, the legal and personal costs of the opioid epidemic collide at the county's historic courthouse. Charlene Hipsher, assistant to the local prosecutor, helped launch a special "recovery court" with the goal of getting drug addicts into treatment instead of jail. Hipsher says recovery court is "intensive supervision and treatment" that provides addicts an alternative to a jail cell and the opportunity to overcome their addiction. Her colleague Dennis Humphrey, general sessions court judge and recovery court judge, says they've found that, "more jail, more jail, more jail," is not effective in helping serious addicts who commit crimes. "It does not remedy the problem," he says, "but something in the nature of a drug court does get to the heart of their problem, try to remedy that, try to work with them, to show them that we do care about what's happening." TruckBeat is #FindingAmerica. This piece was produced by Matt Shafer Powell and Jess Mador of TruckBeat, part of Localore: Finding America, a national production of AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio. Find more stories at NPR and at Finding America.

Across the country, drug overdoses have overtaken traffic crashes as the number one cause of accidental death in America. And most of these overdose deaths have been linked to opiates – drugs including opioid prescription painkillers and heroin. But how did we get here? What’s it like to be addicted to something? Really addicted .... when your addiction makes all the rules -- where you go, who you hang out with, how you treat people, how you treat yourself, whether you live or die. On this special edition of TruckBeat, we’ll bring you the story of one community that’s fighting for its life, fighting back against opiate addiction. We’ll hear how the drug crisis looks in small-town East Tennessee. It’s a picture we’re seeing in every city, county and small town across America. TruckBeat is #FindingAmerica at 91.9FM WUOT in Knoxville.

Numbers show a majority of people with mental illness also have at least one chronic physical health problem that requires treatment. But many people can’t afford mental health services, or they don’t have a regular psychologist or psychiatrist. In this episode of TruckBeat, we hear about a concept that some experts say helps to solve this issue. It’s an idea that’s quickly gaining in popularity across the country, and it's called integrated care. Some doctors say it can provide better, lower-cost healthcare, especially for people who lack transportation or live on low incomes. Producers Matt Shafer Powell and Leslie Snow have the story. #FindingAmerica.

Video for your ears. Inside the Roane County, Tennessee, battle against the prescription opioid painkiller crisis. Watch the video documentary: vimeo.com/174669390 #FindingAmerica or truckbeat.org

Vince Brown's son, Michael, died in 2013 at age 36, shot by Vince in a struggle Roane County, Tennessee, authorities determined was self-defense. Michael was a former professional baseball pitcher who became addicted to prescription painkillers after an injury ended his baseball career. Michael had a history of assaulting his father and had been arrested before the attack that resulted in his own death. Vince recalls that when his son was addicted, he often showed up demanding money for drugs. With @philbatta and #FindingAmerica

This week producers Matt Shafer Powell and Jess Mador examine access to healthcare, and how a lack of transportation and other poverty-related barriers –– non-medical things like bad credit, the location of a grocery store, and a low-paying job without sick days –– combine to form an undeniable bond between low-incomes and poor health. We hear Knoxvillians’ ideas for improving healthcare access. And TruckBeat producer Leslie Snow looks closely at this issue, and one possible solution. It’s called Telehealth. Health experts say seven million Americans will be using it in rural and urban areas over the next two years. TruckBeat is #FindingAmerica

Part Two of a three-part series this week on addiction in East Tennessee. We took the TruckBeat truck out to Cornerstone of Recovery, where we visited with Bubba Grassick and Celeste Webb. We hear about how their recovery from addiction has changed their perspective on themselves and others. And Jess tells us the story of Jason Goodman. After years of abusing cocaine and methamphetamines, Goodman says he's finally found a new life in recovery. TruckBeat is #FindingAmerica

Part One of a three-part series this week on addiction in East Tennessee. We took the TruckBeat truck out to Cornerstone of Recovery, where producer Matt Shafer Powell sat down with Dr. Kip Wenger. We also meet Bubba Grassick and Celeste Webb, and hear how recovery from addiction has changed their perspectives on themselves and others. And Jess tells us the story of Jason Goodman. After years of abusing cocaine and methamphetamine, Goodman says he's finally found a new life in recovery. TruckBeat is #FindingAmerica

Part Three of a three-part series this week on addiction in East Tennessee. We took the TruckBeat truck out to Cornerstone of Recovery, where producer Matt Shafer Powell sat down with Dr. Kip Wenger. We also meet Bubba Grassick and Celeste Webb, and hear how recovery from addiction has changed their perspectives on themselves and others. And Jess tells us the story of Jason Goodman. After years of abusing cocaine and methamphetamine, Goodman says he's finally found a new life in recovery. TruckBeat is #FindingAmerica

What happens when you’re ready to kick addiction to prescription painkillers, but no help is available? It’s a typical situation for many uninsured addicts as the demand increases in East Tennessee for expensive detox and treatment services. Health officials say long waiting lists put addicts at increased risk for overdose, death or jail. We bring you one woman’s story of overcoming the financial barriers to recovery. #findingamerica

In our latest radio episode, TruckBeat tests Knoxville's knowledge about the opiate epidemic with a little audience mini-quiz. And we reveal the answers with data analyst Adam Petrie from the University of Tennessee’s Center for Business Analytics and Statistics, who puts some of the numbers we hear about every day into perspective. http://truckbeat.org/

Susan Martin, from South Knoxville Elementary, is leading a grassroots effort to create more safe opportunities for community residents and students to exercise outdoors. The neighborhood around the school is high-poverty, and has been identified as a "food desert," with a lack of fresh, healthy and affordable food options. TruckBeat is #FindingAmerica. truckbeat.org/

TruckBeat has been asking for audience questions about addiction. So far, we’ve received dozens of submissions. When possible, we investigate and turn your questions into stories. TruckBeat’s latest episode attempts to answer this audience question –– “how are arrested drug offenders dealt with regarding treatment rather than jail?” –– with a visit to Kingston, where Roane County officials have launched a new drug treatment court. To watch the entire video featured in this episode, go to truckbeat.org/

Meet Albert Nelson, who works as a manager at the Community Action Committee's East Neighborhood Center. "By doing that, I get to know a lot of people in the community. I love where I live," he says. Nelson has called East Knoxville home since the 1970s. He's part of a coalition working to identify community health challenges and beautify East Knoxville, improve walkability and access to nutritious and affordable food. We meet in the heart of Five Points, a historically African American neighborhood. More soon! TruckBeat is #FindingAmerica. truckbeat.org

It was 1982. The World's Fair was coming to Knoxville. WBIR TV needed to find a way to broadcast live from the site. So they did what was cutting edge back then: they bought a bread truck. Now, TruckBeat and WUOT own the truck. And after several months of work, we're finally taking it out on the town for its official debut.

On this latest episode of TruckBeat, we ask you (in ten words or less) what you think of when you hear the word "addiction". And Jess takes us to Kingston, where a young couple is fighting against the deadly pull of drug addiction, while teaching others to do the same.

Our next episode examines one family's struggle to begin again after opiate-addiction.

We spoke to people across the Knoxville region to collect their thoughts on health and health care.

Opiate addiction is at epidemic levels in East Tennessee. TruckBeat and 91.9 FM WUOT have been asking people across the #Knoxville region for their thoughts about addiction. Here's a taste of what they have been saying. #FindingAmerica

East Tennessee's opiate-addiction epidemic is widely acknowledged as a health crisis. But it turns out it's not the first time addiction was a big problem in the Knoxville region. To learn more, I met up with a historian who’s investigated Knoxville’s 19th century history – an era when most days meant murder in some areas of town. TruckBeat is a new health storytelling project about Knoxville and East Tennessee. Part of a national public media initiative called Localore: #FindingAmerica. Add your voice to the conversation at truckbeat.org.