The disease of addiction has long been burdened with stigma. People with addictions are seen as people in poverty with no will power, bad people without morals, valueless people who are fallen, lost and hopeless causes. What is true, however, is that addiction is a disease of physiological changes in the brain that if treated appropriately and given the long term recovery support services it needs, has successful outcomes that exceed the treatments for hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. Because of society’s judgment and prejudice toward people afflicted with this disease, not only have the individuals and their families suffered but also denial, a hallmark of this disease, has penetrated our culture to the point of allocating far too few resources to address the problem. What’s more, children, families, employers and often government, physicians and other health care providers consider alcoholics and addicts as deserving less than other community members. Our advocacy and awareness program is aimed at all people in all positions of society to elevate the cultural consciousness about this disease so that one day the afflicted individuals and their families might receive the care, consideration and resources required to adequately address this growing epidemic.

The Mascoma Project

We sponsor a licensed alcohol and drug counselor (LADAC) two days a week to the Mascoma School district to provide counseling services to uninsured students. The counselor assesses and prescribes a treatment plan for each individual student in need and provides counseling as necessary. In addition to these one-on-one sessions the counselor offers substance abuse education to groups of middle school students.