One councilor’s off-the-cuff remarks regarding the city’s homeless camp have sparked a community-wide debate. Citizens and service providers are speaking out and making sure people’s needs are met.
I work in the field of mental health and substance abuse disorders and have first-hand knowledge about the cycle of addiction. I believe in the medical model of addiction.
That being said, I believe that I am a qualified professional to make the following statement.
To address the issue of dispersement of funds, I will start by telling you that I have not yet seen any such resources from the opioid settlements dispersed equitably to each person who suffers from Opioid Use Disorder or OUD.
Granted, the many agencies involved in this epidemic need financial resources to do the most good for the community: police, EMS, fire departments, medical providers, and the list goes on.
However what I have NOT seen is the dispersement of funds to
individuals who live in the camps.
From my time walking the camps to provide services, I did not observe one single individual who directly benefited from the funding. Has any individual received a housing allowance? No. Has any individual been provided with any funding to reinstate a driver's license or to be able to pay fines? No. What about funding for a treatment program? No. No. No. And no.
How can we expect people to get clean/sober if they do not have the resources to treat a mental health disorder or SUD?
Generally, when a person is in survival mode, he/she has to focus on the very basics just to sustain life. A person isn't focused on the future when he or she is dealing with hunger, lack of shelter and making it till tomorrow.
If we really want to address the opioid epidemic, we must address the basic individual needs first.
Another way that funding could be used to benefit the individual and the community is by offering education to the public and those who are afflicted with this disease.
There is not just one magical answer but rather a combination of treating the whole person with an individualized treatment plan.
And finally, addiction is a physiological process that consumes a person, and they no longer have the ability to "just stop" or to use willpower alone.
I would like to propose having a community education event where the members of the community are able to attend an evening event to learn about the cunning, baffling and powerful disease of addition.
I work in the field of mental health and substance abuse disorders and have first-hand knowledge about the cycle of addiction. I believe in the medical model of addiction.
That being said, I believe that I am a qualified professional to make the following statement.
To address the issue of dispersement of funds, I will start by telling you that I have not yet seen any such resources from the opioid settlements dispersed equitably to each person who suffers from Opioid Use Disorder or OUD.
Granted, the many agencies involved in this epidemic need financial resources to do the most good for the community: police, EMS, fire departments, medical providers, and the list goes on.
However what I have NOT seen is the dispersement of funds to
individuals who live in the camps.
From my time walking the camps to provide services, I did not observe one single individual who directly benefited from the funding. Has any individual received a housing allowance? No. Has any individual been provided with any funding to reinstate a driver's license or to be able to pay fines? No. What about funding for a treatment program? No. No. No. And no.
How can we expect people to get clean/sober if they do not have the resources to treat a mental health disorder or SUD?
Generally, when a person is in survival mode, he/she has to focus on the very basics just to sustain life. A person isn't focused on the future when he or she is dealing with hunger, lack of shelter and making it till tomorrow.
If we really want to address the opioid epidemic, we must address the basic individual needs first.
Another way that funding could be used to benefit the individual and the community is by offering education to the public and those who are afflicted with this disease.
There is not just one magical answer but rather a combination of treating the whole person with an individualized treatment plan.
And finally, addiction is a physiological process that consumes a person, and they no longer have the ability to "just stop" or to use willpower alone.
I would like to propose having a community education event where the members of the community are able to attend an evening event to learn about the cunning, baffling and powerful disease of addition.
What people don't understand if you are homeless you don't have to be a drug addict and anyone can be homeless if city council people too