Letter to the General Public
An Open Letter to the General Public
By Richard Jones
All the attention on the “opioid epidemic” has sensationalized addiction and undermine the efforts to address it as a public health crisis. Addiction, or substance use disorder, is a healthcare issue. I hope this open letter to the general public clarifies some of the trouble spots.
The typical person with a substance use disorder is NOT living under a bridge, or robbing a convenience store, or “eating out of a dumpster”.
We Walk Among You
Most of the time we “walk among you”. We work alongside you. We go to church with you. Sometimes we actually are preaching at that same church. We fly your airplanes, preside over your legal proceedings, do your surgeries, teach your kids, build your houses, run your government and entertain you.
We are everywhere; and our disorder presents itself in a wide variety of ways.
Unfortunately, you have been on the receiving end of stigmatizing messages where people paint a very bad picture of substance use disorders. There are far too many war stories and dramatizations out there.
Exploitation of Addicts
There are far too many people “in recovery” who are obsessed with painting the worst possible picture of the person in active addiction. TV shows like A & E Intervention (which is essentially criminal exploitation of addicts) certainly do not illustrate the global nature of substance use disorders.
Of course, there is a hard edge to a substance use disorder and sometimes it is destitute. But believe it or not, more often the person is high functioning and moving about society unnoticed.
Consider the Booze
Consider a substance like alcohol. It’s legal, as well as being very commonplace.
It’s frequently misused; and it kills 88,000 people per year. Same can be said with other substances that aren’t part of the “opioid narrative”.
People go on to the end and die 15 years early rather than seeking help.
Basically, nothing “bad enough” happens; because it does NOT look or sound like the cliched caricature of the “scum bag addict”.
We Are Not A Sideshow
Please understand, those reality TV shows and media stereotypes are not telling you my story. They don’t speak for me. Those “recovering people” who are obsessed with promoting their story of destruction do not represent my story.
They do not speak for me and there are many more like me out there.
We would like to represent ourselves in addition to distinguishing ourselves from the crowd. Substance use disorders are a healthcare issue. NOT A SIDESHOW.
Thank you! – Richard Jones, The Recovery Cartel
Rich Jones, Executive Director of FAVOR Greenville
As a senior healthcare and non-profit executive and director since 2002, Richard Jones brings his skills across multiple domains, including mental health services, substance use disorder treatment, and recovery support services.
Rich is a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist (LCAS), DOT Substance Abuse Professional (SAP), Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS), Co-Occurring Disorder Professional (CCDP), Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP), Certified ARISE Interventionist (CAI) and an EMDR Certified Trauma Therapist.
Prior to joining FAVOR, Rich was the Director of Community Recovery Residences for Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina for Pavillon Treatment Center. Rich has been in long-term recovery since 2001.
He received his B.S. in Business Management at St. Vincent College, his MA in Sociology with concentration in Addiction Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and his MBA with a concentration in Healthcare Management at the University of Scranton.