Stories from Virginia
Now’s your chance to let Congress know you’re passionate about CARA!
Both the Senate and House have passed versions of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. Conferees from both bodies are currently meeting in what’s known as “conference” to finalize one bill that will go to the President’s desk for signature and passage into law.
It’s critically important that the conferees hear from you as soon as possible! These policy leaders must understand how important a comprehensive addiction response is in their home state.
Share a link to this story (or tweet your own!) with Chairman Bob Goodlatte (Virginia) on Twitter: @RepGoodLatte or Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott at @RepBobbyScott. If you’re not on Twitter, share your story with us here.
“My daughter was the best thing that ever happened to me. She had a unique, bubbly personality from the time she was born. She was a gifted artist, musician and athlete. She could have done anything she set her mind to. Instead she is now 20-years-old, homeless, has a serious mental health diagnosis, and is substance dependent. I tried to get help once things started getting bad in high school but came up against so many barriers. My health insurance would not approve inpatient treatment. I cannot begin to describe how painful it is to watch your beautiful sweet child self-destruct and be utterly powerless to help. How gut-wrenching it is to watch your daughter suffer. Please pass this legislation so that other families can be spared the hell that my family has gone through.”
-Kathy Hetick |Sterling, VA
“My son Kevin died 9/12/14 at 21 years old of a heroin/fentanyl overdose. My family will forever mourn his loss. Please help others who are suffering from the disease of addiction. Please help their families who are struggling with the disease of their loved ones.” -Kathy Briggs | Fairfax, VA
“I was a teenage alcoholic and addict who hit a bottom with a suicide attempt at the age of 23. I have been clean and sober for 27 years. I have achieved much in my life and it is time to help other addicted Americans do the same.”
-Lisa Harris | Arlington, VA
“I got hooked on heroin and cocaine during my last year of college and spent over a year in active addiction. Everything I did became about getting my next fix and avoiding withdrawals. After the first couple of months, I didn’t even feel high anymore from doing the drugs. Every hit was necessary just to feel normal. It wasn’t fun and I did NOT want to be doing it, but it became do or die of withdrawals. It’s a sickness.
Without heroin I was too sick to function. It was difficult to find and get into treatment, and asking for help was difficult because drug addiction is criminalized and I was afraid of being put in jail if I told anyone I had a problem. I have seen many of my addicted friends go to jail and prison for things they did while just trying to feel well enough to go to work, do laundry, and just function normally. I’ve known the horrors of detoxing unmedicated in poorly run ‘treatment centers’ and have been sexually assaulted by the doctors I was sent to for help. I tried to report these things and found out just how little anyone cares — society sees addicts like me, not as the sick suffering people we are, but as liars, manipulators, and deserving of the bad things that happen to us, including the sexual assault.
I lost everything because of my illness, my addiction, and got clean at my parents’ house in Virginia. I have now been clean since March 24th, 2015. I am fortunate to have kept my legal record clean, but I am financially ruined. I live in an Oxford House with a few fortunate women who are also now clean and trying to do the right thing with me. The common themes I see living in an Oxford House are the extreme difficulty of getting psychiatric care, the near impossibility of finding jobs if we have drug-related offenses on our background check, and the hopelessness of being trapped in low-income and drug-infested neighborhoods because drug use has led us to financial ruin and the lowest credit scores there are. It is a completely hopeless situation, even after I have been clean for almost 18 months now. If CARA makes an impact in the way society sees addiction — not as a crime, but as a disease — and addicts — not as heartless criminals, but as sick and suffering human beings — then it is a step we need to take, and we can’t take that step unless you make CARA a reality. Addiction is a disease as much as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity, depression, or schizophrenia. We don’t throw people in prison for 25 to life for being obese, and we no longer imprison and torture the mentally ill. We need CARA to help us bring us out of the dark ages and treat addiction like the disease it is.” -Emily Rinaldo | Norfolk, VA
“My story is one of redemption and recovery. I have 6+ years of being clean and sober. The despair that was evident in my life 7 years ago no longer exists. For me it started with 12-step programs, but was rocketed by an outpatient group. I was fortunate to be able to pay out-of-pocket for that group.
Today, as a part of my recovery program, I volunteer with outpatient groups in Fairfax County and am startled by the numbers of people coming in with: 1) opiate addiction and 2) unable to afford the necessary treatment. Even those that have coverage are only afforded a limited time and no after care program. I feel that we can do better and would love to be a part of it.”
-Doug Levy | Falls Church, VA
Video shared by Doug Levy:
