The President has called upon all of us to raise awareness of substance use disorder so that our nation can combat stigmatization, promote treatment, celebrate recovery, and strengthen our collective efforts to prevent overdose deaths.
We are all impacted by the opioid crisis. It affects every socioeconomic community – whether it is publicized or not – with many families and communities torn apart by the ravages of drug addiction. “More than 100,000 people died of overdoses in 2023. If you take a historical perspective, this is four times what it was 20 years ago,” said Magdalena Cerdá, Director of the Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City.
With these daunting statistics, it is clear that we are not winning the battle against addiction using standard practices we have relied upon for years. It is critically important to consider alternative perspectives other than an abstinence-only approach. Harm reduction – an evidence-based model – refers to a non-judgmental approach to policies, practices, and programs that aim to minimize the adverse health, social and legal impacts of drug use, drug policies and drug laws.
And that is something that we can all get behind – a non-judgmental attitude and approach whether it be right in our own families, our community, or even in a broader setting as a policy advocate. It is essential to provide access to evidence-based prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery services. By doing this, we can give those affected by addiction the best chance of finding long-term recovery and hope for the future.
For those in an emergent situation, the nonprofit organization Never Use Alone operates a 24/7 hotline (877-696-1996) where drug users can call before using any type of drug. Trained volunteer operators stay on the line with them in case of overdose. Their tagline is, “No Shaming, No Judgment. No Preaching, Just Love!”
At the Center for Great Expectations, we advocate a non-judgmental evidence-based approach in all our programs. And, we encourage everyone in our CGE family to learn more so that you too can be an advocate for a cultural shift in our nation’s attitude and approach to addiction and recovery.
