Compassion, integrity, bravery, clarity, and determination are the core values Broadway Treatment Center thrives off of. We are committed to our client’s well being around the clock. Unlike other facilities we strive to be a family and restore the lifelong qualities that have been lost throughout our addiction. We constantly remind our clients that their lives do matter even when they feel hopeless. All it takes is patience and persistence to love them until they are able to love themselves. We find it imperative that our clients understand the consequences of continued substance abuse, ultimately ending in death. Staying involved and attending conventions or community functions allows our clients to see that they are not alone and millions of others face the same disease. Becoming involved means becoming aware and this allows us to help others in need.
On August 30th, 2015, Broadway Treatment Center attended the International Overdose Awareness Vigil. In doing so, we gave our clients a chance to show compassion, to gain bravery, and to give them the determination needed in order to lend a helping hand. If drug use is predictable why can’t it be preventable also? Every year almost 44,000 people die due to drug induced injuries. Overdosing is now the leading cause of death from injury in the United States1.
This means mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, and friends are taken away from their loved ones due to a preventable disease. The problem here is that addiction isn’t viewed as a disease like cancer is. We already know that someone has to make the cognitive decision whether or not they want to do drugs. What about those lifelong factors that contribute to the decision? For example, a little girl is beaten, raped, and tortured in her younger years. She grows up feeling unwanted and alone. One day she over hears that drugs make you happy and drugs make you numb. She then decides to do drugs and for the first time in her life she doesn’t have to think or feel.
The words denial, disbelief, refusal, and disown best describe our generation today. We deny that our angelic kids are doing drugs. When we find out a loved one has a substance abuse problem we are in disbelief. When we find out our significant other is under the influence we refuse to see the truth. When the truth finally breaks through we disown our friends. The merry-go-round doesn’t stop moving until someone gets hurt. In the song “If I Die Young” written by The Band Perry states “A penny for my thoughts, oh, no, I’ll sell ’em for a dollar. They’re worth so much more after I’m a goner, and maybe then you’ll hear the words I been singin.’ Funny when you’re dead how people start listening.” Why is it that people don’t open their eyes or ears until someone they love is abruptly taken from this world? We have one life and we cannot live in blindness. Awareness could potentially be the key that unlocks those doors towards addiction. Teaching our children about addiction might be terrifying because we want to protect them, but the truth is that life has already become terrifying. What will continue to happen if the topic of addiction is stepped on and squashed? More deaths, I presume. The horror stories might be the reason your son or daughter is able to say “no” at the next party. Parents have censored out the necessary components for years. Over the years honesty has become a rare trait. We figure if we sugar coat the bad it will suddenly become good, but the bad still remains. The disease of addiction is just as real as cancer. Are we going to stop fighting for our loved ones only because their “disease” is perceived as a choice? Whether people believe it or not addiction is a disease. We are living proof that no matter what factors led us to our using; we couldn’t get away until medical attention was sought. Recovery should not just begin when we hit rock bottom, recovery should begin as early as possible. Once the seed is planted it is hard to start drinking or using without thinking about the repercussions. Believe it or not guilt is harmful to our souls. If we are aware of what substance abuse does to our lives and those around us, maybe the consequences of experimenting with drugs will ultimately be greater than living a healthy life without them. We will never know until we try. Overdosing has become an epidemic and the same question still remains; if drug use is predictable why can’t it be preventable also? How far are you willing to go to protect your loved ones?
