DEATHS OF DESPAIR…

It’s been a minute since I did some ranting. Some deep thoughts. Hold on tight. I need to do some Facebook rant!

Another death this weekend. Another DEATH OF DESPAIR…

Someone I knew. A couple more last week that I didn’t know really well. But I knew the family.

When you work up close with people, as I do, it gets very personal.

REALITY CHECK:

This society has nothing even close to a solution for the overdose crisis. Including me.

I got nothing. NO ONE has an answer. Period.

I have vast clinical experience across nearly every conceivable clinical venue.

And I helped create, as CEO, arguably one of the premier Recovery Community Organizations in the country, FAVOR Greenville.

All of this happened in the non-profit and publicly funded space.

DEEP IN DIGITAL HEALTH

Now I am deep in a digital health start up. Attempting to scale a transformational solution.

Working within a corporate environment.

Definitely a different pathway. No one can say I’m not casting a wide net 🙂

It’s very early yet with our telehealth/digitally enhanced coaching model. Very early.

OVERDOSE STUFF

So much “overdose stuff” happens beyond our scope.

We don’t solve for overdoses.

We aren’t in the community.

We don’t claim to be all things to all people.

GREAT THINGS

We do great things.

In a very specific way.

We stay in our lane and we are damn good at managing that lane.

All of this makes me wonder, where is the coherent and comprehensive plan of attack.

Who is supposed to lead this?

WHERE???

Where will the ultimate solution come from?

The answers appear to be NO ONE AND NOWHERE.

Throw it against the wall and see if it sticks seems to be the strategic plan.

Each model of response has it’s unique advantages. And each model has really good providers among their ranks.

We have fragmented system with silos of good work. People are trying hard. Doing great work. But, there is no comprehensive solutions being offered.

It’s like an incomplete recipe. With people screaming for more and more of their preferred ingredients.

• Throw some more salt in there…
• throw some more pepper in there.
• some more sugar…

OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC

Same for the overdose epidemic:

THROW SOME MORE MEDICATION AT THE PROBLEM. HARM REDUCTION IS THE SOLUTION.

Get help to those most in need!

Throw some parity in there. We need to enforce parity and private insurance should pay for treatment. We need more treatment beds.

RECOVERY SUPPORT

How about some recovery support:

We need recovery coaches and peer support. More peer support.

WE NEED DIGITAL HEALTH. More apps. More telehealth.

WE NEED More family support.

ON AND ON AND ON

And make no mistake, good things happen.

I fully realize there are isolated pockets of quality care. I would like to think my organizations falls into the quality care bucket.

But, at a systemic level, our society doesn’t even come close to slowing the overdose train down. Nothing remotely comprehensive or congruent.

There is no plan to end the overdose epidemic. And that is a very depressing proposition.

A VERY LONG TIME

I’ve been doing this a long time.

There are people who have been doing this work for a couple years who act as if they have it figured out.

I devoted my life to this for 20 plus years.

After awhile, it gets depressing. And all you can focus on is your individual area of focus.

TOO BIG

The system as a whole becomes “too big” to comprehend. Too big to change.

I imagine that people just settle into their “space” and do their part. Do all they can and let the rest go.

I just haven’t been able to do that.

I think people who have the work figured out either do something really big and substantially transformational, (however, this is very rare and I really haven’t seen many people get this right)

OR…

You do something small but exceptional for the small number you serve (I have done this before and I have recently seen others do this–It’s noble work).

I am currently trying to go big….

But man, the nature of substance use disorders are hard to reconcile.

QUESTION EVERYTHING

The death and destruction makes you question everything. 93,000 (at least) dead from drug overdose in 2020.

Hundreds of thousands more due to suicide and chronic alcohol misuse.

DEATHS OF DESPAIR… everywhere you look.

Then you really get in touch with it… it gets personal.

How in the world did this happen?

ABOUT RICH JONES MA, MBA, LCAS, SAP
EVP & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HERITAGE CARES

Executive Vice President (EVP) at Heritage Health Solutions, Inc.
Chief Strategy Officer Co-Founder at Youturn,
CEO at Wellness Partners Group
CEO/President at Jones Solutions Group
Former CEO at FAVOR Greenville

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