We commend Gov. Paul LePage for convening a group of law enforcement officials and addiction and recovery providers to address the statewide problem of substance addiction and for acknowledging “we can’t just arrest our way out of this problem.”
Escalating illegal drug use is a symptom of a much larger addiction problem in Maine that won’t be solved solely by cracking down on drug dealers. The big picture also must include the thousands of Mainers affected by alcohol addiction and marijuana use, which has increased significantly over the last few years.
We need to take a very hard look at our treatment and recovery efforts to make sure effective tools are in place to help all individuals out of the downward spiral of addiction to become contributing members of our communities.
Unfortunately, state funding has been cut for a key program that has a proven track record of helping addicts return to productive lives. If funding decisions aren’t reversed or at least reconsidered, effective Dec. 31, the Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery will be shut down, closing a main avenue to recovery for hundreds of addicts throughout the state who rely on MAAR for ongoing support.
At $150,000 a year, the cost of the program is not high in dollars — especially in light of the recently declared $59 million in state surplus — but the toll will be heavy on those in recovery and those ready to take the first steps.
Through its support initiatives in communities throughout the state, MAAR staff work with hospitals and treatment centers in Maine to quickly identify and connect individuals to community resources, where the real struggle for ongoing success begins. Timeliness is crucial and often can mean the difference between addicts following through and falling through the cracks.
Most important, all MAAR services are free to clients. Cost is all too often a barrier to needed resources.
The net MAAR casts is wide, and staff brings recovery coach training for many, including inmates at the Maine State Prison. This month, MAAR will provide recovery coach training to volunteers at Community Partnerships for Protecting Children in Portland, an organization dedicated to helping to raise healthy children, our most vulnerable population.
MAAR is collaborating with the District Attorney’s office and local counseling agencies and the hospital to establish an opiate recovery support team with the Augusta Police Department. It is modeled on the Gloucester, Massachusetts, Angel Program, which emphasizes treatment, not punishment.
A hallmark of MAAR is peer support, proven to be effective in helping individuals sustain long-term recovery. Services include telephone recovery support as well as coaching and mentoring. Under this highly successful model, services are led by individuals who have themselves struggled with addiction. They serve as role models to connect individuals with needed services and community support. Peers often are the only safety net between success and failure, hope and despair.
MAAR’s telephone recovery support services have served hundreds of addicts actively seeking help. Support is convenient — fewer disruptions to daily life, no travel or child care expense.
MAAR is heading a project to create and maintain, at the click of a mouse, an up-to-date map of all available addiction support and recovery services throughout Maine.
Maintaining and expanding recovery support is critical to improving the landscape of drug and alcohol addiction in Maine.
With addiction at a crisis stage, it is not the time to pull the plug on a program with a proven track record of success. Today, increasing numbers of Mainers are seeking help to break the hold of their addiction, get their lives back on track and retake their place as contributing members of our community.
The faces of addiction are varied. Addicts are from all walks of life, all ages and from every social strata. And they are not alone. Like a pebble thrown into a pond, the ripple effect of addiction extends to family members, friends, neighbors, employers, co-workers and beyond.
It is important MAAR programs and services remain available. Without funding, these services will disappear. The stakes of recovery are high, the return on investment incalculable for addicts and all those caught in the ripple.
Darren Ripley is coordinator of the Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery.