Join Our Friends in Maine: The Fight for More Addiction Treatment Resources.
With less than three weeks left in the legislative session, mental health activists are urging lawmakers to increase funding for crucial MaineCare services in order to recruit more badly needed workers.
Long waiting lists, according to specialists, usually result in families dealing with addiction recovery being unable to receive treatment and counseling hence ending up in crisis. According to Amy Cohan, vice president of outpatient and community services at Spurwink Services and a licensed clinical social worker, up to 500 families have waited for in-home counseling at times, particularly those who live beyond the I-95 corridor.” Insufficient rates make it really impossible for providers to travel to families’ homes, particularly in rural parts of the state, in a financially sustainable way,” added Cohan.
Hotline calls, anxiety and despair rates, suicidal thoughts, and suicides all climbed dramatically during the pandemic, according to Cohan. Furthermore, opioid overdoses hit new highs, erasing prior gains.
To remedy the matter, a number of measures, including Legislative Document 432 and Legislative Document 1173, are awaiting a vote. Before the session ends on June 16, legislators must finish the budget. Opponents expressed concerns about the cost of raising providers’ remuneration, while advocates stated that more sober people are needed in the social services field. Representative Colleen Madigan, D-Waterville, has co-sponsored a number of bills aimed at easing the burden.
Madigan stated, “There needs to be more money put into put state now so that kids can stay at home,” “They can be treated in their communities, and they can get the behavioral health care they need before they wind up in an emergency room or needing inpatient hospitalization or residential care.” Due to a lack of personnel, several sober living programs have had to decrease services, causing families in recovery to relocate their children out of state in search of a residential placement, according to Madigan.
Staff shortages, according to David McCluskey, executive director of Community Care, a nonprofit organization that helps persons with mental illnesses, resulting in a flawed system that creates actual pain for families.
“So there’s people who are waiting to leave psychiatric hospitals because there’s no place for them to step down to,” McCluskey said. “And then there’s also people waiting to get into hospitals. And so the system is sort of frozen.”
While our sober house directory is an excellent place to begin your search, you must ultimately decide which one is the greatest fit for you. Even while accreditation and a favorable initial impression are excellent starting points, you should conduct additional research prior to finalizing a decision. Do not be afraid to inquire! Although there are other excellent sober living facilities, we recommend Vanderburgh House because they assisted in the development of this guide.
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to run a sober house, Vanderburgh Communities, the first organization in the United States to grant sober living charters, may provide additional information. Maintain a positive mindset and accept each day as it comes!
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