Community Is Crucial to Overcoming the Overdose Crisis

THERE ARE ANSWERS! –

Oct. 28, 2022 – While stigma often stands as a barrier to entry for people with SUD, Macy pointed out, its opposite—acts of compassion and kindness—serve as an entryway. “Change happens when people get out of bureaucratic silos and get together,” she said. Community programs that “meet people with SUD where they are” provide a way of countering isolation along with other benefits. Through the process of connecting, people who go to a needle exchange, she noted, are five times more likely to go to treatment.

Macy gave examples of people bringing about change in their communities through acts of compassion. Those in recovery who became peer specialists and were able to gain the trust of people experiencing stigma and lead them to treatment. Nurse practitioners who held pizza parties to reach out to people who contracted hepatitis through drug use and help them find care. A receptionist working at a treatment center whose kindness helped many people take the first step toward treatment and recovery. “In the end,” Macy said, “it’s all about community.”