Over the last few years, there has been increased media focus on the Overdose Epidemic, and with increased focus comes increased awareness. Today, more and more families know someone who is battling a fierce struggle with addiction, and even more of those families know someone who has lost that battle.
Gone are the days of ignorance about substance misuse, now with the spotlight on addiction and recovery, we learn that drug and alcohol dependency affects everyone. From our children, parents, and spouses, to our neighbors, friends, community members, sports heroes, celebrities, veterans, and first responders. People that built and supported our communities are struggling with addiction, and need the support of the community to have a fighting chance.
The so-called war on drugs has become a race for life. A race that, just like a marathon, needs to have support all along the route in order for people to make it. For a person battling addiction, that means more than just walking into the doors of a treatment centre and starting fresh. Oftentimes, there are multiple barriers that prevent someone from accessing treatment, and finances are a large hurdle that can keep people from getting the help that is much needed to build a life in recovery.
Each year, governments pledge more and more funding to make beds available, but this funding can take a long time to trickle down to those who are eligible, often coming with a wait for referrals, a wait for a bed, and checking in daily while holding on to fleeting hope while everything crumbles around you. Some people are fortunate, with savings, family members who can help support them, or jobs with benefits that can offset the cost for their time in treatment, while others may be homeless, unemployed and unable to qualify for Medical EI benefits, or unable to access other supports because they have no idea where to turn to or who to ask for help.
Most of the people working in the recovery field can speak to the fact that someone’s best chance at long term sobriety comes from an immersive 90-day residential program where an individual can address all of the effects of substance misuse and the underlying causes. For some individuals, this means intensive therapy and counselling sessions to address trauma, unresolved since childhood. For others, there are years of malnourishment and nutritional deficiencies, and for even more that means coaching in basic life skills, employment, and daily physical health and wellness. All of these items contribute to a person’s recovery, more so than just a treatment bed, and all of these items are costly.
Across British Columbia, there are approximately 2,700 treatment beds available for those seeking recovery, and not everyone seeking access will have funding available to them. If each of those beds can provide a 90-day residential stay, that means each bed will see a new resident 4 times a year. Last month alone, there were 2700 calls to 911 for an in-progress overdose. 2700 times paramedics and other first responders were sent to save a life. 2700 lives that were almost lost due to the inability to access life-changing supports like the alcohol and drug treatment services provided by Together We Can and other providers across BC.
The TWC All Together Fund has been created to help fulfill our mandate of providing low barrier, accessible services coupled with continued care for our residents, alumni, staff and volunteers.
