Freedom from Addiction was birthed from a combination of anger, restlessness, impatience, love, compassion, and a deep knowing that we can and need to do better as a society to ease the suffering of those experiencing addiction.

It is based on the understanding that addiction is complex and nuanced, not a reflection of personal values or character but rather of societal values, priorities, and messaging. Further, with addiction being a ruthless and progressive beast of its own, the focus is on immediate intervention regardless of what exactly caused or led to the addiction.

It also recognizes that the labels “addiction” and “stigma” are ridden with judgment and/or have lost their meaning. Recognizing that the issues to be addressed are not “addiction” and “stigma,” but rather human suffering and barriers to seeking help.

We believe in the power of collaboration, human connection, hope, community, openness to new ideas, nonjudgment/a proactive mindset, and last but not least, an underlying sense of lightness.

Ultimately we need to do whatever we can as a society to support those in need, because when someone is in the depths of addiction, they NEED help. Period. Ultimately we need to lower barriers to services that promote healing. This will require increased insurance coverage, no-cost services, and education geared toward policy makers, practitioners, and individuals experiencing addiction. We need to greatly increase accessibility given the enormous barrier to care that is stigma.

We are not anti the current model of treating addiction, but we believe that it is more complex than, and may require more than, medication and therapy.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we need to make a showing that we care. People who are experiencing addiction, more than any other population, need to know that someone cares. I’d argue that this is a critical component to surviving, healing, recovery. Until they are capable of caring for themselves, we need to care.