I am touched by the tragedy in Haiti and the outpouring of support to those affected. I must, however, take this moment and stand on a soap-box cause of my own.
The current death toll is reported at over 200,000 with 1.5 million rendered homeless. This is a tragic event, similar to the tsunami of 2004. I have and will continue to offer my financial contributions and prayers. I hope you will do the same.
My soap box is that in the United States alone, there are over 180,000 deaths annually due to alcohol and other drugs (not including drug and alcohol related traffic deaths). The estimate cost to Americans each year for illicit drug use and related crime is around $65 billion.[1] There is numbness to this astounding reality. We don’t hear pleas from the White House to text for support, or celebrities and emergency response groups banding together to raise awareness and funds. What is more, how quickly would we respond if the technology and expertise to prevent the earthquake in Haiti had been available? Yet, much is known – both medically and socially - about the causes and treatment for addiction and those affected by it.
So, my pitch is that we must find a way of raising our awareness and response to a killer that surpasses the tragedy in Haiti every single year in the USA. At this point I would recommend a charity, program or group for you to donate to or support, but other than local programs – I’ just not aware of one good source to fund or support. So, search your local charities and give of your money and your time.
-Steps off soap box-
We now return to our regularly scheduled blogging…
you are so right. no need to apologize when you are doing a public service. Alcohol awareness and keeping drugs illegal ( no thanks to the Calif "Tax pot" plan).
ReplyDeletemost of all, love your brothers and sisters ,and teach your children well. addiction is HELL
Your post is interesting, and it's important for people to hear. I realize it's not the only way to help, but I like what many homeless shelters are doing. Many offer professional services for drug rehab. and have on site housing designed for those struggling to overcome addictions, etc. It's not just a bowl of soup anymore. They are great places to donate time and/or money.
ReplyDeleteThere are also many prevention groups, which is also great. Thanks, Kim!
David - Thanks for visiting and commenting.
ReplyDeleteJulie - You are right, there are some great things being done to deal with addiction. I just wish we could find a way of making larger impact throughout the nation...sigh.
Nicely put, Kim. We are often moved by the epic disasters that we fail to appreciate the everyday disasters taking place right under our noses.
ReplyDeleteTo wit: endless wailing over 9/11 (3,000 deaths), but complete silence about the alcohol-fueled carnage that claims 40,000 of us every year. I could fill Google's hard drives with more examples, but you get this stuff.
The world has many needs. I only hope we don't abandon them all as we rush to rebuild Haiti. There must be balance, somehow.
I agree with this and think a lot of people feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteIt can be terribly difficult to support someone you love who has an addiction problem. You want them to know you're there to help, but you may not have any real clue what will help. And, in any case, you certainly don't want to enable the addictive behavior, even -- maybe especially -- when you're unsure what enabling the addiction might look like.
ReplyDeleteThings may not get any easier when your loved one is in recovery, either. You either find yourself hesitating to say things because you really don't understand what it's like for the other person (and you don't want to sound like an idiot, or -- worse -- patronizing), OR you go ahead and say it and risk finding out that what you just said really did sound as stupid, insensitive, or condescending at you were secretly afraid it would.
People want quick fixes to things, and giving money in a one-off to help feed some anonymous disaster victims half a world away is a much easier sop to your conscience than actually getting down in the trenches and slogging it out alongside someone in whose life you have a stake.