On the first of September, the nation recognized the first day of National Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery month. Throughout the month, a multitude of communities will come together and hold rallies, write letters, and raise awareness about the importance and impact of recovery.
Unfortunately, words are not and cannot be enough to help the oncoming tide of addiction. Addiction is a powerful disease that does not discriminate; it affects anyone it can get its hands on and doesn’t care who you are.
Although the US is recognizing a month in which people suffering from an addiction are recovering, there doesn’t seem to be much being done in order to help those suffering from an addiction.
One example is the First Lady herself, Melania Trump. Mrs. Trump has been sparing in the use of her voice as First Lady. Earlier in the year, she spoke out against cyber-bullying, but neither her agenda, nor her words, were backed by anything cohesive.
The same can be said about her message on September first, where she tweeted out a message of support of recovery month and the number to SAMHSA, but then nothing else. In fact, the White House has gone silent.
Earlier this year, the local city governments of Prescott, Phoenix, and Scottsdale Arizona, moved to further regulate sober-living homes, with many owners of the homes stating that overregulation will hurt the continued support that sober-living homes provide.
People in recovery are constantly faced with a negative outlook and stigmatization, constantly being seen and presumed as being on the verge of relapse. The stigma and shame associated with substance abuse will always surround those in recovery- once an addict, always an addict, some might say.
Another way this stigma has negatively affected those seeking recovery is through the War on Drugs. Although a noble effort in an attempt to lessen the pain that drugs have brought upon many communities, it discriminates against those suffering from an addiction by sending them to prison, and forever smearing any future prospects.
The more stigmatization against those with a substance use disorder, the more likely one is to support criminalization of all drug offenses, and one is less likely to support insurance coverage for treatment.
There is a lot of care in the world for anyone attempting to better their life from the harsh realities of addiction, but there is a lot of flak for them as well. There are many activists that help support and provide assistance to those in recovery, but there are also those who don’t.
More needs to be done to help those in need of help. One way to do this is to rid the common theme of institutional apathy; people need to begin caring about the plight of others and need to be aware of the stigma that many are facing.
The most important thing people can do, though, is be made aware of the epidemic that is currently enveloping the country. With the Affordable Care Act, many were able to have addiction treatment partially or fully covered, depending on the insurance.
Another way to help would be to contact your Senators regarding addiction coverage treatment. The American Healthcare Act, that was defeated earlier this year, would have removed the requirement of providing addiction treatment coverage.
The current Graham-Cassidy Healthcare bill would slash the funding to Medicaid and allow states to change and remove the mental-health care provisions, essentially allowing states to remove assistance for addiction treatment that many so desperately need. Letting your incumbents know you are against this can make all the difference, especially if many call to voice their concerns.
The issue deserves more than a Facebook update or a single tweet with a phone number. Acknowledging that there is a problem isn’t doing anything to actually fix the problem. Armchair activism is not enough.