Thank you Bill Stauffer! As you said, "Senator Casey and Senator Toomey, please support the recovery set aside! Although hundreds of millions of federal dollars have flowed into Pennsylvania to address addiction, next to nothing has gone to our recovery community organizations. Tom Corderre states the facts here!"
I would add that this budget measure or "set aside" should specify funding for every county in the nation to establish at least one fully-staffed (with qualified, well-paid doctors and counselors) treatment center that provides medical best practices treatment and at least two wellness living homes, one for men and one for women in recovery, which supports those pursuing medical best practices treatment. Recovery programs without affordable wellness housing is a solution that does not address the homeless in recovery, a sizable community. This "every county" approach should draw bi-partisan support because so much of the overdose crisis has hit rural communities and the government response has been particularly underfunded in those communities. The government response must emphasize best practices treatment as only 20% of those in recovery are receiving medication assisted treatment (MAT) and not coincidentally, over 80% of the wellness homes in the US do not support those participating in MAT. This stigma of MAT is killing people and it has to stop.