Aging and Well-being
Opioid Crisis in the Pew Hope Wrought by Faith
by jim morgan and joe bohn
PIOID ABUSE HAS LIKELY
Overdoses and deaths from prescription and illegal opioid usage are dramatically increasing across the country. In 2017, the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported over 70,237 drugoverdose deaths, up from 36,010 drug-overdose deaths a decade earlier. The annual cost of prevention, treatment, recovery, and deaths reached $78.5 billion in 2016. 2
already found its way into your congregation. The face of the opioid crisis is no longer the heroin addict strung out on the streets. Tampa Bay Churches Join the Fight In 2016, there were 2,798 opioid-related overdose deaths in Roughly 21 to 29 percent of patients prescribed Florida—a rate of 14.4 deaths per 100,000 persons, compared opioids for chronic pain misuse them.1 He’s to the national rate of 13.3 deaths per 100,000 according to the former football player who is a frequent the National Institute on Drug Abuse. On the west coast of attender silently dealing with the long-term Florida, a group of pastors, other faith leaders, academia and community partners have taken action to increase education, effects of knee injuries. She’s the mother of two awareness and support, while reducing stigma associated in the back pew, suffering from loneliness and with the addiction crisis. Under Humana’s national Bold Goal relationship issues originating from childhood initiative, aimed at addressing key national public health challenges, a cross-sectoral group of partners across three sexual abuse. It’s even the teenager in the youth counties is working to stem the tide of opioid addiction. In group experimenting with pills, succumbing the early planning stages, the partnership channeled their efforts into engaging faith leaders in the crisis. to peer pressure. 36
Church Health Reader | Fall 2019
