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I'm both proud and humbled to share with you that in the ten years I have been with Liberation Programs, not a single person in one of our MAT programs died from a narcotic drug overdose. Please let that sink in. Not one person.
What this points to is evidence that treatment works and no one needs to die from addiction.
Last year at Liberation, we treated 1,291 people for narcotic addiction, using a proven medication approved by the FDA decades ago. If you were to comb through our clinical records during the past decade, the results would be identical each year - zero lives lost due to narcotic overdose. But what we HAVE seen is that people die when they stop receiving treatment.
One of the biggest impediments to continuing treatment is simply not having access to it. Only one in 10 Americans receives the addiction treatment they need.
Liberation Programs is in the business of saving lives - one person at a time. But, with state and federal budget cuts to our services cresting $800,000, we have been in the heart breaking position of having to turn some people away in order to continue to provide treatment to others. Who are the people affected the most? Most often, it is the working poor - people who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford the cost of insurance for themselves and their family.
Studies continually demonstrate that addiction is a major healthcare problem, with more than 900 overdose deaths in CT last year. We know that
addiction-related deaths can be avoided because
treatment works - so long as people have access.
If you have any ideas on how we can reach more people, please email me at
Alan.Mathis@liberationprograms.org
. I'd love to hear your thoughts and work with you on solutions.
Best regards,
Alan J. Mathis
President & CEO
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In the Loop with Liberation
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SAVE THE DATE
Mark Your Calendar Now
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Liberation Programs' Tenth
Spirit of Hope Awards Dinner
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Woodway Country Club, Darien
For information about sponsorship opportunities, call 203.604.1144
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| What Will the Impact on Addiction Treatment Be with Changes to the Affordable Care Act? |
As we all try to stay informed on the changes the new administration may enact, we've come upon some recent news stories that explore the ramifications
of eliminating the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and how many more lives will be lost due to
the disease of addiction.
As we stated earlier, there are still many Americans who either cannot afford insurance, or the insurance doesn't adequately cover treatment for addiction. We are the last western country that looks at healthcare as a privilege. Insurance companies keep finding new ways to avoid paying for addiction treatment. Here's a powerful article from the New York Times that discusses this tragic and life-threatening American situation,
Life in Obamacare's Dead Zone.
Connecticut is in a financial crisis. That is not news. But what is surprising is how cuts in basic human needs, like healthcare, are often the first to get cut, often with little outcry from the public.
The
CT Mirror's article,
5 Health Care Stories to Follow in the 2017 Legislative Session
, takes a look at the likelihood of another round of cuts to health and social services.
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| Darien - How Healthy Are We? |
| Addressing the Growing Addiction Epidemic in Fairfield County |
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Addressing Darien residents at the Health Assessment event, Liberation's Alan Mathis reminded everyone that "addiction doesn't discriminate and it's affecting all of us in Fairfield County. |
Malcolm J. Spears, Author of Biggie's Chronicles Gave Keynote Speech for Darien's Health Assessment Results Event
Liberation Programs participated with the Darien Health Department as it presented the results of its most recent town health assessment. Part of a three-part series collectively called, "Darien, How Healthy Are We?, " the second evening's presentation to concerned Darien residents focused on Substance Abuse, Impacts and Consequences. Data collected for the study showed
an increase in calls to Darien's EMS due to growth in the abuse of opioids.
In his introduction of the evening's keynote speaker, Malcolm J. Spears, author of
Biggie's Chronicles, Liberation's CEO and President Alan Mathis reminded everyone that "addiction doesn't discriminate. It's affecting all of us in Fairfield County." He continued, "Liberation Programs has been employing evidence-based best practices in the treatment of addiction since the agency opened in 1971."
Malcolm,
one of the first recoverees to graduate from Liberation House, Liberation's flagship inpatie
nt treatment program for addiction, e
mphasized the need for young people to have mentors help them
discuss their emotional pain, work through the issues that each of us experience as we grow up and
realize their potential and avoid the pitfalls of peer pressure that can lead to dangerous choices. M
alcolm's story,
Biggie's Chronicles
,
published this past fall by Liberation Programs,
is available for purchase
here
. Proceeds from the sale of the book will provide life-saving treatment for those who otherwise would not be able to afford help.
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Malcolm J. Spears, Jr., author of
Biggie's Chronicles, shared his experience with the Darien audience, about when as an adolescent growing up in Stamford, he faced making choices that affected the rest of his life.
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Spotlight on Liberation and the Community
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| Liberation Programs Health Educator Charlene Lee |
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Liberation's Health Educator Receives AIDS Recognition Award
Liberation Programs' Health Educator Charlene Lee received the AIDS Recognition Award for her commitment to helping people affected by HIV/AIDS.
Every year during The World AIDs Day Event in Bridgeport the Greater Bridgeport HIV/AIDS Consortium recognizes a member in the community that has dedicated themselves to the fight against HIV/AIDS and other chronic, life-threatening diseases.
Working in the field since 1996, Charlene explains that as Liberation's Health Educator, there are two goals toward which she works passionately every day - to connect people to medical treatment and to offer hope. She explains, "when we help people recover from addiction and connect with medical care they live healthier and longer lives." Look for Charlene at community health fairs in lower Fairfield County where she spreads awareness about the services Liberation provides: "We are here with open hands and open arms - we are in this fight together!"
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Thank you from Families in Recovery to volunteer Ellen Golden, architect, painter, photographer and jewelry designer
Recovery from addiction comes in many shapes and sizes. It's so much more than "just say no."
Liberation Programs is fortunate to have had Ellen Golden, an architect from Greenwich, volunteering with the women at FIRP to help create one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry, as part of the program's Tuesday Night Arts Club. Ellen has been coming every other week, often with a personal donation of new beads and jewelry fittings, and leading the women on a two-hour adventure into creativity.
Ellen's talents are many and include painting, photography and jewelry design. She was most recently the head of the interior design segment and a principal at James Rogers Architects in Norwalk.
Ellen and her husband, Paul, will soon be moving to Georgia to be closer to their daughter and grandsons. It wasn't a move they were planning until growing older, but on a recent visit, they found the perfect new place: "We saw the perfect house on a little lake with a stream, beautiful garden, large space for my studio, another large space for Paul's library and just four minutes from Catherine's house." And so their next chapter begins.
"Though she has only been volunteering with us since August, Ellen has demonstrated her truly caring spirit every time she has come to make jewelry with the women, gracing FIRP with a positive charge of energy and creating a meditative space where the women can be together while they create beautiful pieces of art," said Liberation's Resource Specialist, Elaine Osowski, "The women will miss her and her enthusiasm and commitment when she goes, but we are all thankful for her coming to FIRP and happy for her finding a magical new home."
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Order Your Copy of Biggie's Chronicles
Malcolm Jauval Spears, Jr. was born in Harlem, New York
City and grew up in Stamford CT. He is a graduate of Liberation
Programs who went on to study BFA Drama at The University
of Southern California. Malcolm is a single father who has
raised his son and daughter to young adulthood. He is an actor,
author, screenwriter, independent producer, public speaker,
educator, lecturer and businessman.
Biggie's Chronicles was
written as part of Malcolm's commitment to inspire people to live their
dreams. He currently lives in Atlanta, GA.
Yes, I'd like to purchase my copy of Biggie's Chronicles. I understand that 50% of the proceeds from the sale of the book provides life-saving treatment for those who otherwise would not be able to afford help.
Click here to order.
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