You may or may not be aware that getting help for somebody with addiction recovery can be a difficult process especially from the financial end. The insurance industry and healthcare industry has basically stacked the odds against us. There’s been a fight for many years for people with drug and alcohol addiction to gain equality and parity for coverage equal to other diseases and conditions.
Without going into a big political diatribe, I believe that one of the factors that works against us is the concept of anonymity. It seems to be ingrained in us that addiction problems is something not to be discussed except among ourselves. I think this is a great way to shoot ourselves in the foot by keeping the problem quiet and out of the headlines. The sqeaky wheel gets the grease.
I believe that at some point is it is incumbent upon us to advance the cause of addiction recovery. While I am generally not politically motivated, addiction recovery is my passion. I hate the ignorance, pain, and suffering that is caused by active in addiction and the stigma surrounding people trying to get help. One way you can help the program at a local level is simply to participate, write your state representative a letter or send an e-mail.
There is one organization who has done an exceptional job of bringing the word of addiction in addiction recovery to people on both a grassroots, local level and a national level. That organization is the faces and voices of recovery. They provide information on getting education program started, contacting your local political representative to make your voice known. Part of the concept is to put a face and a voice to the recovery movement and move it out of the dark ages.
In 2001 recovery advocates from more than 30 states came together for a ground breaking national recovery summit in St. Paul, Minnesota. Faces & Voices of Recovery was founded to launch a response to the needs we identified in St. Paul. Today, Faces & Voices network of 25,000 individuals and organizations is at the forefront of a new grassroots recovery advocacy movement that is fostering the growth of communities of recovery across the country.
Click here for more information on FACES AND VOICES OF RECOVERY
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
“There’s been a fight for many years for people with drug and alcohol addiction to gain equality and parity for coverage equal to other diseases and conditions.”
lol
I don’t think that this is that based on reality. If you think about it, most of the people out there have addictions. For example, most people out there watch too much TV, browse the internet or stay too much in house etc.
The alcohol addiction comes from your habits. The same applies to every addiction. I don’t think they require special treatment.
Change your habits instead.
Thanks for your post.
thanks for the post!
over the years there has been some wonderful advancements in how people see addiction and what they know and understand it to be. Do we need someone on the forefront fighting for the underdogs absolutely…we all need it in one shape or form.
Sorry to disagree… but drug addiction is a complex brain disease. It is characterized by compulsive, at times uncontrollable, drug craving, seeking, and use that persist even in the face of extremely negative consequences. Drug seeking becomes compulsive, in large part as a result of the effects of prolonged drug use on brain functioning and on behavior. For many people, drug addiction becomes chronic, with relapses possible even after long periods of abstinence. For more information visit http://www.drugabuse.gov/published_articles/myths.html