Resources for Families Coping With Substance Use Disorders

Everybody knows someone, at least that’s what the statistics reveal. Currently, there are nearly 49 million Americans living with a substance use disorder in the U.S. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals there were more than 107,543 U.S. drug-related deaths last year. Additionally, according to a study by RAND Corp, more than 40 percent of Americans know someone who died from an overdose.

However, these are not just numbers. These numbers represent lives – our children, siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, coworkers, and neighbors. And, a substance use disorder, a treatable chronic disease, knows no boundaries. It is impacting all sectors of society.

There is strong evidence that investing in drug prevention and addiction treatment makes good financial sense. The ongoing existence of addiction is more expensive than the cost of treating it. Not only would investments in treatment result in the rehabilitation of millions of people with substance use disorders, but it would also save the American people billions of dollars through improved workplace productivity, reduced criminal justice costs, and reduced medical costs. According to a recent study from Fors Marsh, a certified B Corp that conducts and implements research to solve complex challenges for public and private sector clients, substance use results in $740 billion in total costs nationally each year. If there was a greater investment, society would start to see the numbers reduce.

Most importantly, people need to understand that people with substance use disorders should not be defined by their disease and that with the right treatment, people can and do recover every single day.

For families needing support for someone who has a substance use disorder, here are a few recommendations to keep in mind:

Step #1: How to determine the right treatment 
Is the person willing to receive help? If so, there is often a short window of willingness and so one needs to move fast to get them the help they need while they are still willing to receive help.

A person can take an assessment to find out what level of care is needed for themselves or a loved one. Not everyone needs 28-day in-patient care. It is also necessary for many people to go to detox first —detoxing on one's own from alcohol or benzodiazepines can be fatal.

Step #2: Find and compare treatment centers 
Once a person knows the suggested level of care, they can continue with Shatterproof Treatment Atlas to provide options and start making phone calls to secure a bed or a space in an intensive outpatient program. Treatment Atlas is a confidential and free nonprofit platform that helps someone find treatment facilities that provide appropriate, high-quality addiction treatment. The platform also helps determine the necessary treatment based on:

• Location of the program,
• Facility protocol to follow best practices,
• Known information on insurance and alternate methods of payment selected,
• What groups are served and,
• The types of treatment services offered.

Step #3: Review insurance plan benefits and coverage 
Insurance coverage for addiction treatment varies by a person’s plan and where they live. It’s complicated but it’s doable. A person can find most of these online through their insurance portal’s website. They are called “certificates of coverage.” An insurance provider can answer any questions and that number can be found on the back of an insurance card.

Conclusion 
While investing in care, there are several ways to address substance use, reduce its costs to society, improve public health, and help individuals achieve stable, long-term recovery and become productive members of society.

By ensuring loved ones have access to resources, we can change how communities support and treat people impacted by substance use disorders.

Addiction can and should be treated with science and compassion – the way we do with any other chronic illness – and we hope that you can invest your time and resources in the same way.

Gary Mendell is the founder and CEO of Shatterproof, a national nonprofit that guides society, especially families, through the complexities of a substance use disorder; informs the public on prevention, treatment and recovery from addiction; and educates the public to reduce the stigma of addiction and ensure that everyone who uses substances or has a substance use disorder can have a full and successful life in recovery.

After losing his son Brian to addiction, Mendell founded Shatterproof to spare other families the pain his had experienced.

Mendell is a frequent speaker on how our society can end the stigma unjustly associated with addiction, including testifying in front of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis and before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on Treating Substance Misuse in America. He has also been honored numerous times for his leadership related to reversing the course of the opioid epidemic. He has been a guest several times on CNBC and MSNBC to provide his perspective on commonsense solutions to the opioid epidemic, and his opinions are frequently reflected in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.