Today is Opioid Misuse Prevention Day. Many of Alvis’ clients have co-occurring mental health and addiction disorders. In fact, the our entire organization has been moving toward an integrated behavioral healthcare model in our treatment. We are strong advocates for combatting the disease of addiction, with full knowledge of what it can do to individuals, families, and communities. We also advocate against stigma of addiction, which prevents communities from adequately responding to addiction with the necessary measures.
We believe that a person’s potential is far more important than their past, and that rings especially true for clients who have past addiction disorders. Because of the fact that addiction, many times, is co-occurring, there is a need to both treat the addiction and other behavioral concerns that an individual client may have. We recognize our clients’ strength and believe in their ability to recover.
Opioid misuse is a true epidemic—according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, every day, more than 130 individuals in the United States die from opioid overdoses. They have also found that 21 to 29 percent of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them. The Midwest saw opioid overdoses increase 70% from July 2016 through September 2017. Our nation is taking measures to end this crisis, but it is still very widespread.
From the strong, powerful women in our Amethyst program, to the men battling addiction with the POWER program at our Jackson Pike location, we are proud of our numerous clients who are survivors of substance misuse. We stand with them in our commitment to ending this epidemic in our community.
Alvis is a nonprofit human services agency with over 50 years of experience providing highly effective treatment programs in Ohio. Our vision is that communities value a person’s potential more than their past. For more information on how Alvis can help you or to learn more about how you can get involved, contact us here.