The people included in " More Older Adults Are Struggling
With Substance Abuse" (Business Day, Oct. 4) are to be commended for
coming forward to speak about a growing problem that affects the well-being of
millions of Americans.
For too long, addiction has been dismissed as a moral failing,
and sufferers have been blamed, shunned and arrested. The stigma of addiction
is such that many older people whose lives have unraveled because of alcohol
and/or drug abuse do not get the help they need until a crisis alerts
caregivers to the urgency of the situation.
For the lucky few with access to private insurance or resources
to pay for treatment, the prognosis is positive, and the long-term health,
economic and family struggles can be reversed. But this is not the case for the
overwhelming majority of older adults, and the situation is likely to get
worse, as the number of those who fit the criteria for substance abuse is
expected to double over the next five years.
Public treatment programs that offer a range of low-cost
residential, outpatient and peer recovery services are a necessary and wise
investment.
PETER
PROVET
President
and Chief Executive
Odyssey House
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