Opioids. The word has come to denote the new bogeyman of the 21st century. Just as zombies exploded on the scene in Americana in the 1990’s, opioids are just as horrific today. The difference was the blood-sucking zombies were fictional and a source of great narrative, while opioids are the very real life draining epidemic impacting thousands of Americans everyday.
The statistics are astounding. The numbers in 2016 alone suggest that at least 59,000 Americans died of opioid overdoses. The projection for the next decade is that 500,000 to 650,000 Americans will die of opioids overdoses. In the past six months, many feature articles have delved into how the opioid epidemic is devastating many communities. In West Virginia, the death rate from overdoses is an astounding 33.5 per 100,000 individuals. Drug overdoses have been especially devastating to young people and are the leading cause of death of people under the age of 50. There is no gender, racial, ethnic, economic or religious boundaries to opioid abuse. Poorer communities are more greatly affected as seen in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. The factors that lead to opioid abuse are many and have been well written about. Poverty can be a factor. The ridiculous over manufacturing and ready distribution of opioids has certainly increased the epidemic. People cannot be blamed for looking for ways to cope with the pressures of everyday life and the real mental and physical anguish that come with daily life for many.
The crisis in America caused by opioids is an epidemic that is devastating. The economic impact is staggering. More staggering is the impact on individuals who are unintentionally killing themselves with drug abuse. Not only are individuals losing their lives but also in their wake they are creating vast holes in society. This epidemic is creating young widows, widowers, orphaned children, devastated parents, and extended families wondering went wrong. Folks, this epidemic is a war in our society that is shattering this country no less than if there was an open civil war. It is killing America and ruining families.
As a society, we must realize that drug addicts are not bad people but people that have gotten sucked into a terrible downhill spiral. We are scratching the surface in realizing that drug usage is related to the genetic brain chemistry that a person is born with. Research into brain chemistry is still in its infant stages. Perhaps we will be able to eventually give people a vaccine to reduce the desire and necessity for drug usage. We can only hold out hope for the future and hope that the scientists whom might find the prevention for drug addiction do not themselves succumb to drugs. We cannot afford to lose people in our society.
At The Seraph Foundation, our goal is to assist individuals who are seeking treatment now. We do not have the magic cure for drug addiction but we can support individuals who are seeking recovery in the best environment for their particular program. The Seraph Foundation will be aggressively seeking funds from all funding sources that can be, in turn, distributed to individuals entering or continuing with recovery. If you are an individual seeking assistance, contact The Seraph Foundation. If you are an individual or represent an entity that can contribute to The Seraph Foundation, please give us the utmost consideration.
We must defeat this epidemic haunting our society.
