Education

It’s all well and good to talk with kids about avoiding drugs and alcohol. And it would be wonderful if that were enough.

Unfortunately, we’ve had a generation of kids who grew up hearing “Just Say No”—and many of them didn’t. It’s impossible to know whether simple messages like this have actually helped some people avoid the path that leads to addiction. What we do know, however, is these messages aren’t enough to make the problem go away.

This is why RecoveryAid places such a high priority on education. In the same way an inexpensive vaccination can prevent a future disease that may be costly to treat and potentially fatal, educating people of all ages about the ravages of addiction is “cheap insurance” against the possibility of much greater problems in the future.

Through education, we also strive to help raise the world’s awareness of the consequences of untreated addiction, as well as the benefits of recovery.

Although we’ve entered the 21st century, many people still hold archaic views about addiction, seeing it as a moral weakness or lack of willpower. These outdated attitudes cause people to treat addicts with scorn and anger, and leave those with addictions feeling ashamed and hopeless. Modern medical science has disproved these notions, recognizing addiction as a disease—not a choice. Still, pockets of ignorance remain in our society.

Without education, thousands of people who could be helped will never seek treatment. Thousands of families will never know the joy of seeing a loved one achieve recovery. The human toll of suffering will never stop. As a compassionate society, we cannot stand by and allow this to happen.

RecoveryAid spreads the awareness of hope for those with addictions through its outreach efforts. In addition to educating the public, we have designed programs to bring greater understanding of treatment to those in the medical community, as well as in government agencies that deal with addicted individuals and their families.

The concept of intervention is still largely unknown or misunderstood by many health care professionals. RecoveryAid has developed a program to introduce this concept in teaching hospitals and at medical conferences. Through these efforts, the newest generation of health care providers will understand the importance of treatment, and know how patients with addictions can be helped—even if they aren’t willing to seek it voluntarily.

Many government agencies deal with addicted individuals, from the legal system to mental health and social services. While great strides have been made in recent years to encourage treatment over incarceration, more needs to be done. Federal, state and local government officials who are involved in caring for people with addictions (and their families) need to know how their funds can best be used to assist their clients. RecoveryAid advocates for those with addictions, and participates in existing organizations shaping public policy. We believe these steps are just as important to the overall welfare of people struggling with addiction as providing the treatment itself.