LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Recovery Month

I recently had the opportunity to visit our legislatures in Lansing.  My message was, “treatment works” and the public system needs adequate funding to meet the needs of those who suffer from addiction.  One state representative responded, “It did not work for my family member and I don’t believe it works for others.  It is a waste of money.” 

I know the pain of watching loved ones die from alcoholism and other drug use.  Many of you know my story so I do not want to belabor it.  My brother died at the age of 38 after participating in treatment programs.  My sister died at the age of 50 after very limited treatment.  Intervention was not quick enough.    I could believe the same thing that the state representative believes: “treatment does not work.” 

I came to the following conclusion:  treatment for alcoholism and other drug addiction does not work for everyone suffering from the condition.*   It is true.  Treatment does not work for all people who suffer from cancer, heart disease or diabetes either.  Statistics show that treatment for those suffering from addiction must often experience multiple treatment episodes.  In some cases the recovery rate is low.  The jury is still out on why treatment, in some cases, is ineffective.  I have some thoughts.

• Intervention does not occur early enough in the disease process.  Denial (not a river in Egypt) of the reasons for the problems faced by those that are in the early stages of addiction, are often overlooked, minimized or rationalized by both the user and those who love him.   This allows the user to continue down the progressive path to full blown addiction. 

• There is little acceptance that addiction is a chronic condition that requires long term care.  Treatment episodes tend to be short and follow up is minimal.  Current attitudes continue to support the theory that treatment should work the first time.  While relapses occur, they are viewed as failures rather than conditions of the addiction that need further and ongoing attention.    

• One of the reasons treatment may appear ineffective is because there is not enough of it!  There has been an erosion of funding for public treatment.  Michigan has not received an increase in funding for the past 17 years!  This has resulted in longer waits for treatment, shorter stays and an increased number of addicts being “treated” through the penal system.

 All that being said, I know that alcoholism and other drug addictions are conditions that cause much pain for individuals and society as a whole.  I, also, know that treatment, as well as other forms of interventions, can and do work.  People are putting “faces and voices” to the recovery movement.  Two local events are being held in September where voices will be heard.

Celebrate Recovery! will be held on Belle Isle on Saturday, September 13 at 9:30 a.m.  Those in recovery and those who support them will gather to walk across the Belle Isle as a show of confidence….recovery works!

Macomb County’s Recovery Fest held at Huron Park, located on Frazho Road in Roseville, on Sunday, September 14, will provide an opportunity for the community to participate in a fun and informative day of celebrative activities.

I want to thank the family of Carl Lewis who died last winter.  His obituary reads, “Carl Lewis died suddenly at his home after losing his long struggle with alcoholism.”  Carl’s family gave us a gift.  They recognized alcoholism as the disease that it is.  They recognized that Carl struggled against the disease.  They recognized that alcoholism was the reason for the death; they didn’t hide behind a different diagnoses.  Their brave act validates for us what most want to deny:  alcoholism is real and kills.   Overcoming the addiction is a “struggle” and sometimes can not be achieved.      

When you read between the lines of Carl’s obituary, you can guess that he may have been a caring person.  He wanted memorial contributions to go to the local Humane Society.  He enjoyed the outdoors.  Both are characteristics that we identify with a sensitive sole.   

Carl’s family’s actions will go a long way in helping others understand the very terrible consequence of addiction.  For those that are drug dependent, the struggle is hard and often short lived. 

Do You Have a Back Door?
A counselor, treating those with alcoholism or other drug dependency, shared that she had recently been asked a question by a potential client.  “Do you have a back door?”  Its meaning was clear to the clinician and should be clear to everyone in long term recovery.  Stigma is alive and well in many of our communities.

In spite of the fact that research validates what has been known by most of us for years – drug addiction is a brain disease – many people still view it as a moral failure.

The failure to recognize addiction as a brain disorder impedes people from seeking treatment.  While progress has been made in understanding most mental illness, substance use disorders remain a condition that brings shame to those with the affliction, thus the need to use a back door when seeking treatment. 

We know this because

• Insurance companies refuse to offer treatment at the same level as other diseases
• Public funding for those with substance abuse disorders has not increased in 19 years! *
• Many of our laws and policies punish people with substance use disorders, including such practices as denying loans or voting rights, and welfare guidelines which require indiscriminant drug testing. 
• People ask, “Do you have a back door?”

*Send your letters of support for public funding to me at
Project Vox
31900 Utica Rd., Fraser, MI  48026