The overdose rate is skyrocketing. It’s time to make addiction treatment a priority.
- by: Shatterproof
No one should have to die from addiction. It's a treatable illness. And yet, according to new CDC data, the year ending in November 2020 saw 90,000 overdose deaths in the United States. That's the most overdoses in a single year—ever.
Take action now. Add your name to our petition to demand change.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made an already grave addiction crisis so much worse. This issue is urgent: President Biden, Congress, and state governments need to aggressively pursue solutions in order to stop the suffering and make recovery a reality for every American with a substance use disorder.
Eliminate treatment barriers. Train doctors, nurses, and other health professionals. Educate the public. Prioritize health over punishment. By using both science and compassion, we can turn the tide and end the devastation.
Add your name now to show you stand with Shatterproof in demanding compassionate, effective, science-based solutions to the addiction crisis.
For the millions of Americans impacted by addiction, it's no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic has made the addiction crisis worse, with more overdoses than ever before. Isolation, unemployment, loss of structure and access to services—it's been a perfect storm since day one.
COVID-19 has brought many grim milestones, and the addiction crisis is no exception.
According to new CDC data, the 12-month period ending in November of 2020 saw 90,000 overdose deaths in the United States. That's the most overdoses ever recorded in a single year.
It is critical to take action now, and the only way to reverse the course of the current addiction crisis is to make effective, high-quality treatment available to every patient in need. Today, only 1 in 10 patients with substance use disorder receive any treatment at all for their illness—and far fewer receive care that is rooted in scientific best practices. Without access to care, our loved ones continue to die needlessly.
Shatterproof knows that there is no silver bullet, but there are evidence-based solutions that are being woefully underused. We're asking Congress, the Biden administration, and state governments to make these five priorities a cornerstone of its addiction policy work.
- Remove barriers to evidence-based treatments, like medications for opioid use disorder
- Train all providers on addiction, so that every health professional is prepared to prevent, identify, and treat substance use disorders
- Treat addiction at stage 1 by encouraging Medicaid adoption of the Collaborative Care Model in all states, allowing patients to get the help they need right in their primary care doctor's office
- Educate the public with trustworthy information about addiction, cutting through the chaos and confusion that too often surrounds this illness
- Take concrete steps to dismantle stigma so that patients are treated with compassion, not judgment or punishment
Together, we can make recovery a reality for every American with a substance use disorder. Thank you.
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