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Opioid Use Disorder in the Disability Community
The Arizona Spinal Cord Injury Association is taking on one of our biggest tasks yet in 2020; battling the growing opioid use disorder with individuals who sustained a spinal cord injury. Our stance on the epidemic is that it must be tackled in three different buckets: prevention, treatment, and recovery. All of these buckets must also work together in order to create the best outcomes. Our slogan "Pain Doesn't Have to Kill" is a call to action for our community members to be there for each other and support each other as they seek out the healthiest methods to manage pain.
Our goal is to establish dedicated pathways for consumers, caregivers, family members, and professionals to access the resources available to them to combat OUD. Over the course of 2020, you will begin to see educational marketing pieces designed to bring awareness about OUD within our community. Your participation as a community member is vital to bring treatments and resources to those who can benefit from them. In our early work, we have found that individuals with spinal cord injuries are unaware of their options. Our website will feature a dedicated section full of educational material, accessible treatment sites (vetted by the AZSCIA with strict standards), and healthy living programs for you to access to take control of your specific pain management needs.
On top of the wonderful awareness campaigns we plan to run in 2020, we also seek to create permanent relationships with pain management and treatment facilities throughout the valley, as well as statewide. We recognize this epidemic affects our urban communities, but it has wreaked havoc on our rural communities as well. Areas like Tucson, Kingman, Yuma, and Flagstaff will be areas of focus as we move forward with this project. Our existing peer mentors and support group leaders will be at the forefront of disseminating information as we work to establish programs in these areas.
Lastly, one of the
Our goal is to spread awareness and educate on the current opioid epidemic in the state of Arizona within the disability community.