Answer Addiction

Tag: addiction awareness campaign

  • "Hope Stems" Campaign Spotlights How Opioids Affect The Brain Using Flowers

    "Hope Stems" Campaign Spotlights How Opioids Affect The Brain Using Flowers

    The floral exhibit coincided with the Macy’s Flower Show, and aimed to depict opioid addiction in a different light.

    While flowers are typically given on joyous occasions—births, graduations or anniversaries—florists around the nation have also found themselves preparing hundreds of thousands of bouquets for the funerals of people who have died from opioid addiction. 

    With that in mind, the addiction advocacy group Shatterproof has launched a new initiative, showing a brain made from more than 9,000 carnations, pockmarked by black poppies meant to represent the effects of opioids on the brain. 

    The exhibit, called “Hope Stems” was on display in Herald Square in New York City from Tuesday to Thursday (April 2-4). 

    The public was invited to remove a poppy from the bouquet, symbolizing the restoration that happens when someone gets treatment and is able to overcome their opioid addiction. 

    “As a father who lost his son to addiction, ‘Hope Stems’ gives me so much optimism,” Shatterproof Founder Gary Mendell, whose son died by suicide in 2011 after fighting opioid addiction, told Campaign Live. “This installation will impact how people view those suffering from addiction. It is my sincere wish that this campaign will help end the stigma and encourage those who are suffering to seek treatment. By changing how we think about addiction we can save lives.”

    The display is timed to coincide with the Macy’s Flower Show, which runs through Sunday, April 7. 

    June Laffey, who works as chief creative officer at McCann Health New York, said that the “Hope Stems” campaign is a powerful way to raise awareness and get attendees at the flower show to think about addiction and ways to provide treatment to people who need it. 

    “This campaign has the power to not only change the way people think about opioid addiction, but to save lives,” Laffey said. 

    By using the flowers to form a brain, the initiative focused on the fact that addiction is a brain disease, not simply a matter of willpower or choice. 

    “Opioid addiction is not a weakness,” Laffey said. “It is a disease that changes the brain. There’s science to prove it. With knowledge comes power. With knowledge comes compassion. With knowledge comes hope.”

    She continued, “Hope stems from reducing the stigma and speaking with compassion. So let’s all speak with one voice. The more we reduce stigma, the more people will seek treatment and the more lives will be saved.”

    After New York, the Hope Stems display will appear in Atlanta from April 22-25 (Monday through Thursday) during the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • "192aDay" Campaign Spotlights Heartbreaking Toll Of Addiction

    "192aDay" Campaign Spotlights Heartbreaking Toll Of Addiction

    The campaign aims to spread awareness about addiction and offer resources for recovery and treatment options.

    Each day, 192 people die from a drug overdose in the United States.

    “That’s like a plane crashing each day, day after day,” write the leaders of #192aday, an initiative from the Addiction Policy Forum, an organization that aims to bring awareness to drug addiction and fight for better treatment.

    The friends and relatives of people killed by addiction penned an open letter, highlighting the things they wish they had known. “We hope that this knowledge, painfully earned, can help you and your family,” they write.

    It’s important that family members and friends familiarize themselves with the signs of addiction. Although they can be hard to spot, follow your intuition if you feel there is something more going on, the family members write.

    “We now know that we should’ve been more proactive in the very beginning,” said Barbara. Her son died of a fentanyl overdose at 46, but a teacher had first expressed concern decades earlier, when he was in 8th grade.

    Even experimenting with seemingly harmless substances like cigarettes or marijuana can be cause for concern, the family members say.

    And once you realize your loved one is abusing drugs, don’t wait until they hit rock bottom to offer them help. “Now with fentanyl, rock bottom was an overdose, a fatal overdose,” said Justin, who lost her son Aaron to an overdose at 20.

    When your loved one is ready for help, realize that recovery takes time. “I wish I would’ve known that recovery is not about 3 months, 6 months, a year in rehab. It’s a lifetime. When they release someone from rehab, it’s not the end. It’s the very beginning,” said Karla, whose daughter Alicia overdosed at 28.

    Finding quality treatment can be lifesaving, so talk with other families and organizations to identify the best treatment option for your loved one. “Resources are much easier to find these days because people are finally talking about the disease,” said Katie, whose brother died of a drug overdose.

    Family members should be open to all courses of treatment, and help their loved one connect with the type of treatment that is most likely to help him or her succeed. “I’d thought medication-assisted treatment (MAT) was ludicrous, just trading one addiction for another, but I was wrong,” Katie said. “Since losing my brother, I often wonder if MAT would’ve helped Zachary succeed. When someone has cancer, we don’t choose between chemo and radiation—we layer treatments.”

    Even failures can be important for recovery, or serve as warning signs for the family. Aimee D’Arpino found out after her son died that he had received Narcan at least seven times in prior overdoses. “That is seven missed opportunities to intervene and save our son’s life,” she said.

    Although it’s difficult to talk about, family members need to be open about the connection between substance use and suicide, said Jim, whose son Scott died by suicide. “His relapse led to his suicide,” Jim said.

    Lastly, no matter how your loved one is doing in managing their recovery, it’s important that family members seek out their own support and resources.

    “It feels like you’re drowning when you’re worried about your kid and desperately trying to find help,” said Doug Griffin, whose daughter Courtney died from an overdose. “And the stigma around this disease can mean backlash and judgment from some of the people closest to you, but help does exist. Reach out. There are so many people right next door who are dealing with addiction too and so much support we can give each other.”

    View the original article at thefix.com