The White House has launched a new initiative called the Great American Recovery Initiative to help address the challenge of substance use disorders and the intertwined nature of addiction and mental health. The initiative proposes a coordinating body to assist in forming a national response to substance use disorder that includes public health, healthcare, criminal justice, housing, education, and economic development partners. For those living with substance use disorders, this could mean receiving integrated care versus receiving a lot of fragmented, single service care.
The role of counties in this initiative is critical because they already plan and operate many community-based services for the treatment of substance use disorder. Through the local providers and the use of behavioral health authorities, counties will be using new data tools to analyze overdose trends in the community and to help target resources most appropriately where they are needed most. In addition, the plan for the initiative proposes a whole continuum approach to implement an “entire” continuum for substance use disorder by implementing prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery support, and re-entry services into a single continuum.
It is very important to treat substance use disorder both as a health problem and a community social problem (not just as a crime) to help families heal from substance use. Families who have experienced substance use disorder experience grief, stigma, and financial burden. They need to know where to go to get help; they also need long-term support after receiving that help.
How successful the initiative will be depends on how well the federal guidance is implemented in the Community. Implementation examples might include shorter waits for treatment, more culturally competent providers, and real opportunities for people experiencing substance use disorder to recover and rebuild their lives.
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