Month: October 2019

The Path to End Homelessness

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THIS is the path to end homelessness, please watch!

Rosanne Haggerty was the key note speaker for the Live Well San Diego Advance on Monday. This solution is working across the country, its about honesty in framing the challenge and intensive collaboration.

We can reach functional zero homelessness but we all have to engage, at the very least by pressuring decision makers to take the leap and engage in non-traditional ways.

Cost of Living

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Since 1978, the cost of:

College tuition has increased by 1,120%.
Medical care has increased by 601%.
Food has increased by 244%.
Shelter has gone up by 380%.

Meanwhile, the pay of

Typical workers rose by just 10%.
Minimum-wage workers fell by 5.5%.
Average CEOs increased by 937%

Sources: EPI, Bloomberg, US Labor Department

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Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction

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Principles of Effective Treatment – https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/treatment-approaches-drug-addiction
Based on scientific research since the mid-1970s, the following key principles should form the basis of any effective treatment program:

  • Addiction is a complex but treatable disease that affects brain function and behavior.
    No single treatment is right for everyone.
  • People need to have quick access to treatment.
  • Effective treatment addresses all of the patient’s needs, not just his or her drug use.
  • Staying in treatment long enough is critical.
  • Counseling and other behavioral therapies are the most commonly used forms of treatment.
  • Medications are often an important part of treatment, especially when combined with behavioral therapies.
  • Treatment plans must be reviewed often and modified to fit the patient’s changing needs.
  • Treatment should address other possible mental disorders.
  • Medically assisted detoxification is only the first stage of treatment.
  • Treatment doesn’t need to be voluntary to be effective.
  • Drug use during treatment must be monitored continuously.
  • Treatment programs should test patients for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases as well as teach them about steps they can take to reduce their risk of these illnesses.

STATE STATISTICS

  • California spends $12 billion dollars per year on state corrections
  • Approximately half of prison and jail inmates meet criteria for substance abuse or dependence.
  • Most people with substance abuse issues who are released from prison/jail relapse in the community.
  • We have an opportunity to provide treatment while incarcerated
  • Unfortunately, substance abuse and addiction treatment is not widely available.
  • The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University estimates that only 11% of incarcerated individuals in need of substance abuse treatment receive it in jail or prison.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER? Once someone has a conviction on their record it becomes increasingly difficult to find gainful employment, no one wants to rent to you, without treatment it’s likely that they will relapse.