ORMOND BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dr. Barry Tishler, once a sick and suffering addict/alcoholic, recovers and goes on to earn an MBA and Doctorate degree and while working in the field of addiction and witnessing the devastating consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the opioid epidemic, addiction, and recovery, establishes the Addiction Education Foundation Inc. A Florida 501(3)c whose mission of hope is to provide organizations information, education, training, workshops, resources, and solutions on substance abuse, addiction, prevention, and recovery.
Covid proved fertile ground for the opioid epidemic with over 90,000 drug overdose deaths in the US in 2020, the highest ever recorded, 20,000 more than in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
While overdose deaths were already increasing in the months preceding the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic, the latest numbers suggest an acceleration of overdose deaths during the pandemic.
Synthetic opioids (illicitly manufactured fentanyl) appear to be the primary driver of the increases in overdose deaths, increasing 38.4 percent from the 12-month period leading up to June 2019 compared with the 12-month period leading up to May 2020. During this time period:
- 37 of the 38 U.S. jurisdictions with available synthetic opioid data reported increases in overdose deaths.
- 18 of these jurisdictions reported increases greater than 50 percent.
- 10 western states reported over a 98 percent increase in opioid-involved deaths.
CDC recommendations
The increase in overdose deaths highlights the need for essential services to remain accessible for people most at risk of overdose and the need to expand prevention and response activities.
Lack of available substance use disorder (SUD) and addiction services along with the escalation in overdose deaths and relapses due to the pandemic prompted the action of Dr. Tishler. Through the foundation addiction consultants lead education and prevention workshops providing solutions specific to client and organizational needs. AEF designs and implements new and/or improved programs such as the Recovery Friendly Workplace and the Drug Court Employment Toolkit, action plans that produce pathways and solutions toward long-term recovery. AEF further helps to reduce the stigma and barriers associated with addiction and recovery ones that prevents or delay individual’s legitimate chances to recreate one’s life, meaning, and purpose. There is a solution, people do recover, the Addiction Education Foundation is there to help.
https://www.addictionedufoundation.org
