I'm watching PBS on the Seattle LEAD program which diverts non-violent addicts into a program which tries to help "while they get ready to get clean and dry." If I understand them correctly they say they are successful because they have reduced the number of kids who are entering the legal system, so "it makes sense" to keep them in the program because the dollars are less to do this. I certainly want better options for folks fighting various additions, but these kids are so sad, so without hope. There is a picture of a dad who is trying to love unconditionally, but his daughter's increasing problems are breaking his heart.
But of course they are not allowed to use government dollars to explore the spiritual needs of folks who are so sad, so frustrated with their own lack of progress, who feel so unworthy of getting better. They discuss methadone which helps with heroin addition, but admit some folks change to a different drug even while on methadone. They say treatment is only successful 50% of the time, but that is 50% more than zero treatment. And the "success" ratios are all over the place with no public disclosure to guide either addicts or their families in choosing between treatment options.
With the new, extensive medical care available under the Affordable Care Act, it would seem treatment would be far more available, but there is no agreement about what works so it is a bit like plastic surgery where it is hard to tell the skilled from the merely greedy. More money being available will attract those who see this as a money-making opportunity rather than a calling and responsibility.
There are no simple, easy or fast answers for a problem that has been exploding in recent years. But there is one core truth. God cares deeply about these folks and their families. God does not abandon the ill, the broken, the hopeless. And we dare not turn our back on them either.
Let us pray for them every day, every time we learn of someone who struggles with this and for the families who struggle with the medical, financial, emotional and legal challenges of addiction. Let us open our hearts if we are called to work on these issues either professionally or as volunteers.
But of course they are not allowed to use government dollars to explore the spiritual needs of folks who are so sad, so frustrated with their own lack of progress, who feel so unworthy of getting better. They discuss methadone which helps with heroin addition, but admit some folks change to a different drug even while on methadone. They say treatment is only successful 50% of the time, but that is 50% more than zero treatment. And the "success" ratios are all over the place with no public disclosure to guide either addicts or their families in choosing between treatment options.
With the new, extensive medical care available under the Affordable Care Act, it would seem treatment would be far more available, but there is no agreement about what works so it is a bit like plastic surgery where it is hard to tell the skilled from the merely greedy. More money being available will attract those who see this as a money-making opportunity rather than a calling and responsibility.
There are no simple, easy or fast answers for a problem that has been exploding in recent years. But there is one core truth. God cares deeply about these folks and their families. God does not abandon the ill, the broken, the hopeless. And we dare not turn our back on them either.
Let us pray for them every day, every time we learn of someone who struggles with this and for the families who struggle with the medical, financial, emotional and legal challenges of addiction. Let us open our hearts if we are called to work on these issues either professionally or as volunteers.
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