COLORADO SPRINGS — As Nationwide Restoration Month in September involves an finish, one state-wide undertaking is providing an ongoing useful resource to indicate help for these battling drug habit.
The Restoration Playing cards Undertaking created by Colorado’s opioid anti-stigma marketing campaign, Raise The Label, is reaching out to the group with specially-designed greeting playing cards with messages of hope. The undertaking lets Colorado residents ship these phrases of inspiration without cost to their family members battling habit.
This 12 months, Lo Gomez, an area Colorado Springs artist has been chosen to design their very own card for the initiative. They stated after shedding a cherished one to habit in 2015, the trouble hit dwelling.
“I really feel like I obtained loads of closure from being part of this. It is not one thing I actually talked about an excessive amount of, so having the ability to like, really feel like I am doing one thing significant with it and having a background with it was actually cool. It undoubtedly helped me heal,” Gomez stated.
Maggie Bryan
They stated typically when you do not have the proper phrases to say to somebody recovering, these greeting playing cards can ship a hopeful message.
“I put ‘it is okay to ask for assist’ as a result of I really feel like lots of people do not suppose it is okay. It is type of stigmatized in a manner,” they stated. “I feel it is simply to unfold consciousness, simply to make individuals extra conscious that there are individuals struggling in our group, and as a substitute of like, banishing them or shutting them to the facet, we have to attain out and be keen to assist and settle for and forgive.”
In El Paso County there was a 22% enhance in drug-related deaths in 2021 in comparison with the 12 months earlier than, in keeping with final 12 months in keeping with the El Paso County Coroner’s Workplace. The 2021 annual report stated this was largely because of the doubling of fentanyl-related deaths. The Nationwide Institute on Drug Abuse stated over 20 million individuals in america had been recognized with a substance use dysfunction prior to now 12 months. Solely 10% of these individuals ever acquired remedy.
Gomez’s card and over 40 others might be discovered on the Restoration Playing cards Undertaking web site. In case you are not a Colorado resident however would nonetheless prefer to ship a card there may be an choice to ship a digital model without cost.
When you or a cherished one is fighting a substance use dysfunction there are assets for you. The SAMHSA Nationwide Helpline for drug habit and substance use issues is 1-800-662-4357. You too can discover a remedy middle close to you by visiting Colorado’s Behavioral Well being Administration web site.
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