A bill to create three comprehensive addiction recovery centers is making its way through the Statehouse. The proposal would fund centers in northern, central and southern Indiana and address numerous components involved in recovery.
Recovery advocate Brandon George testified in support of the bill and says Hoosiers currently struggle to find comprehensive care.
"When you do get into the system, you’re not going to be able to access all the resources in one area," says George. "You may have to go to five different place to receive the different types of care that someone actually needs."
Care may include detoxification, a place to live while in recovery, medication-assisted treatment, counseling and outpatient services. The state would set aside grant funding to establish the three centers. All would need to be accredited.
Overdose Lifeline executive director Justin Phillip lost her son to an overdose. She says addiction needs to be treated like a chronic disease.
"Had my family and my son, and the countless other Hoosiers, been provided a clear and easy system to navigate the complex journey of treatment and recovery, we’d have more stories of sobriety and recovery than we do of overdose and lives lost," says Phillips.
Supporters say the centers would also establish a fund and the infrastructure to respond to future addiction epidemics.
The proposal was passed by the House Public Health Committee and moved to the House Ways and Means Committee.