June 25 - "Dealing with Drug Addiction Issues"

One of the things that really grieves me as a pastor is when I need to talk with families where a young adult is in the throes of drug addiction.  I really empathize with parents who suffer so and feel so very helpless when they see their adult children in crisis.  I am also very sad when I have to preside at the funeral of a young person who has died as the result of a drug overdose.  In 2015, more than 52,000 people were killed by drug overdoses, more than the number of people who died in car crashes or gunshot violence, according to information released in 2016 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  This represents an 11% increase over the number of overdose deaths recorded in 2014, which was itself a record number.
This came with significant increases in overdoses on opioids, a class of drugs that includes heroin, synthetic drugs like fentanyl, and prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin.  Heroin deaths were up 23%, to 12,989.  Prescription opioid deaths rose 4%, to 17,536.  According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 91 people in the United States die every day from drug overdoses.
In an article published in Our Sunday Visitor in 2014, Fr. John Mahoney, Director of Clinical Services for Catholic Charities of New Hampshire, said that they noticed that addicted individuals were not coming to Catholic Charities for direct-care services (even though they had them available) because there was so much shame and guilt associated with substance abuse disorder, and individuals were embarrassed to come to the Catholic Church for help.  Fr. Mahoney also made a very valid point when he said that it was even more important for the Church to treat the epidemic as a public health problem and treat substance use disorder as a disease, not a sin.
I would like any family who is suffering because they have a son or daughter or a niece or nephew in a substance abuse crisis to know that they could come and talk with me about this.  As a church we need to help each other in the good times and the bad times.  Another resource that is available through Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington is their Substance Abuse Education and Services department.  Catholic Charities Outreach Department has a licensed Substance Abuse Prevention Professional who is available to work with parishes, schools and community groups through education, training.  Darryl Colbert is in charge of this outreach.  He is also a resource toward recovery options.  Here is his contact information for anyone who wishes to get in touch with him.  His phone number is (202) 561-4014 x105.  His email address is Darryl.Colbert@CatholicCharitiesDC.org.
 
Until next week,
 
Fr. John Dillon