Indianapolis, IN, July 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Addiction Policy Forum, a national addiction nonprofit, is releasing today its Blueprint for Indiana: Implementing a Comprehensive Response to Addiction. [link] Indiana has been a leader in aggressively responding to addiction. The recommendations outlined in this plan expand upon these efforts and ensure the state has a comprehensive approach to addressing addiction.
The United States is in the midst of a public health crisis of substance misuse, addiction and overdose. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control, 63,600 people died from a drug overdose in 2016. Among them, 1,526 people died from drug and alcohol overdoses in Indiana. This represents an increase of twenty-three percent from 2015, largely due to the rise in opioid-related deaths.
“I lost my middle son Aaron at the age of 20 to an overdose. I know first hand the importance of connecting communities with a common understanding of this chronic disease and this opioid public health crisis,” says Justin K. Phillips, co-chair of Addiction Policy Forum’s Indiana chapter. “It has been a privilege to partner and contribute to this Blueprint for Indiana: Implementing a Comprehensive Response to Addiction [link]. As a state co-chair and advocate, I will work to ensure these recommendations are followed and implemented when possible.”
With the assistance and input from the Addiction Policy Forum’s network of Indiana patients, families and addiction policy leaders, Indiana is the sixth jurisdiction to receive a comprehensive blueprint from the Addiction Policy Forum. The Blueprint for Indiana provides recommendations in seven strategic areas to implement a comprehensive response to addiction in Indiana:
- Advocating and Educating
- Helping Families in Crisis
- Preventing Addiction
- Expanding Treatment Access and Integration into Healthcare
- Expanding Recovery Support
- Protecting Children Impacted by Parental Substance Use Disorder
- Reframing the Criminal Justice System
“Addiction is a disease that touches so many families and so many sectors of society,” says Mark O’Brien, Addiction Policy Forum’s Vice President of State Affairs. “It’s critical that our responses take a holistic approach that includes everything from prevention, treatment, and recovery to overdose reversal, child welfare, and criminal justice.”
“Indiana has been so affected by addiction and its consequences,” says Addiction Policy Forum’s Policy Associate Simone Greene. “This blueprint not only highlights the wonderful work that is being done in the state but also offers recommendations for a coordinated addiction response.”
"I am working to ensure that other families have the support they need when addiction hits their family," says Addiction Policy Forum Indiana Chapter co-chair Andrea Grace Phillips. "This report is a great tool for advocates, policymakers, and families to push for changes that build on what Indiana is already doing to address substance use in our state."
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About Addiction Policy Forum
The Addiction Policy Forum is a 501(c)(3) organization established in 2015 as a diverse partnership of organizations, policymakers, and stakeholders committed to working together to elevate awareness around addiction, and to improve programs and policy through a comprehensive response that includes prevention, treatment, recovery, and criminal justice reform. Jessica Hulsey Nickel, whose own family was devastated by addiction, is the founder of a coalition of 1,700 families impacted by substance use disorders and is available for further explanation and interviews by media.
More information on our mission and projects is available at http://addictionpolicy.org.