Abstract
The Salvation Army is a social service organization that supports the unmet needs of many people in the United States who suffer from poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, drug addiction, and other problems. The clients of The Salvation Army face critical challenges that require expert guidance from its employees and volunteers to meet their needs and to ensure that they are on a path to recovery and improved quality of life. The programs offered by The Salvation Army address areas of need such as substance abuse and addiction and homelessness among individuals and families. The organization addresses some of the complex issues that affect many families in urban and rural settings and acknowledges the importance of service and giving back to the community to ensure that the needs of those who suffer do not go unmet, including the risk factors and challenges of substance abuse and opioid addiction that affect many people.
Description of the Agency Setting
In my volunteer role at the Salvation Army, I have gained familiarity with its employees, the services that they provide to their clients, how they interact with clients, and how clients can meet their needs with the services and resources that are available to improve their lives. In the United States, the Salvation Army (2018) offers services in a variety of settings across many communities. Specifically, the organization provides service to those in need in 3,042 locations to address specific challenges with food, transportation, and shelter that affect members of different population groups; support for job training services for many of the 36 million adults in the United States who lack adequate job preparedness; support for those addicted to opioids and other drugs; nutritional support for persons who face food insecurity in their daily lives; support and shelter for those displaced by hurricanes and other natural disasters; and the ability to strengthen families facing poverty through childcare and other services that support individuals and families in a variety of settings (The Salvation Army, 2018).
The Salvation Army has been instrumental in supporting persons with natural disasters and has provided 5.8 million snacks and beverages, 147,586 spiritual care contacts for the displaced, and an investment of $76 million in areas hard-hit by hurricanes such as Puerto Rico and the Gulf Coast (The Salvation Army, 2018). Furthermore, the organization provided over 52 million meals to those in underserved populations in 2017 along with a Doing the Most Good grocery store to provide social services in conjunction with food products (The Salvation Army, 2018). The organization also operated 141 centers for drug rehabilitation in the form of residential addiction services that are free to clients; 38,987 job referrals; and almost 10 million people with shelter during 2017 (The Salvation Army, 2018).
Problem of Concern and Corresponding Unmet Service Needs
For clients in local communities who lack the necessary support and guidance to meet their needs, it is important to address these challenges in a comprehensive manner. For instance, substance abuse is a serious unmet problem in many communities where there are many high-risk cases and numerous deaths attributed to overdose. Specifically, opioid addiction is a significant problem across the United States and continues to pose many challenges for those whom are affected. Medications are used to treat the problem along with in-house rehabilitation services but their emotional issues contribute to the issue and the continued risks associated with addiction; in this context, opioids which once might have been used to treat pain are now used to numb the pain of emotional, psychological, and social turmoil (Dugosh et al., 2016). Each client has unique unmet needs that must be addressed through rehabilitation services and may include cognitive-behavioral therapy and other options to reduce the risk of continued abuse of these drugs (Dugosh et al., 2016).
The Salvation Army works directly with many clients who face different types of drug and alcohol addiction in the form of rehabilitation services and the development of tools that will have a lasting impact on their quality of life and wellbeing. The organization provides over 150,000 persons with addiction services including holistic therapy, counseling, and life skills development to overcome addiction and to put clients on the appropriate path to recovery (The Salvation Army, 2019). In the State of Alaska, for instance, substance abuse is a serious problem that requires significant attention; therefore, The Salvation Army recently partnered with the Department of Corrections to provide substance abuse programs for residents at a cost of $2.2 million per year (Verge, 2017). The success of these programs requires expertise from the community to service the needs of clients who face serious substance abuse problems in their daily lives and who lack other support from the community to address these problems (The Salvation Army, 2019).
The Salvation Army’s impact on persons who face opioid addiction is significant and demonstrates the importance of developing meaningful strategies to improve the quality of life of those whom are affected. Specifically, The Salvation Army partnered with a chiropractic franchise to raise awareness of opioid addiction and the severity of this problem along with the use of chiropractic services and other natural alternatives to combat opioid abuse (Caring Magazine, n.d.). The campaign established was designed to address many of the challenges of the opioid crisis and to raise funds for the 139 rehabilitation facilities that are operated by The Salvation Army (Caring Magazine, n.d.). There are many alternatives available to persons who experience pain and have been prescribed opioids that do not have the addictive properties of these drugs and support the needs of the public who experience addiction in their daily lives (Caring Magazine, n.d.).
There are many challenges associated with opioid addiction that are unmet in the lives of those who have this problem. There are many advocacy efforts in place to address the problem but the issue remains significant and it is difficult to manage the large numbers of people who become addicted to opioids and may die due to overdoses (Kertesz & Gordon, 2018). To accomplish the specific needs of this population group, organizations must focus their efforts on assisting those in need of addiction services and treatment because the first step towards recovery is to ensure that clients have a safe place to address the problem before it is too late (Kertesz & Gordon, 2018). Opportunities must be available to support clients who face opioid addiction and to ensure that they have access to treatment and rehabilitation that are affordable or complimentary in the case of The Salvation Army for those who face difficult economic conditions.
Public Policy Related to the Problem
To support addiction and recovery services, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CADA) was signed into law at the federal level by President Obama in July 2016, and this law was in response to promote comprehensive care for persons who face addiction along with prevention services to accommodate the needs of many clients across the spectrum (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2019). This law demonstrates the importance of promoting widespread advocacy for drug addiction and substance abuse treatment that is based upon the need for comprehensive services for clients in need (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2019). Some of the areas of emphasis of this law include Section 107: Improving Access to Overdose Treatment to support opioid treatment programs and others who prescribe buprenorphine and naloxone to patients to combat overdoses, including training for providers and reducing co-payments for those requiring these medications to reverse an overdose (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2019). Furthermore, the law includes Section 601: State Demonstration Grants for Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Response to ensure that states have the resources and funding to provide education for providers, the prevention of deaths due to opioid overdoses, increased access to prescriptions for opioid addiction, and public education to improve outcomes among different population groups in preventing opioid addiction and abuse (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2019). This law demonstrates the importance of understanding the hold that opioid addiction has on many communities and how to best overcome addiction by using different services to accommodate the needs of those who face this reality in their daily lives.
The response to CARA was significant as it was one of the first acts in recent years to provide sweeping education and reforms to combat addition and promote prevention as well as treatment and recovery services for those affected by opioid addiction (Frank, 2016). However, it does not go far enough nor is it an “actionable plan” to combat addiction in a sweeping manner (Frank, 2016). It is likely that to facilitate effective change among persons who are directly impacted by addiction, there must be an understanding of the critical gaps between those who have Opioid Use Disorder and those who receive access to treatments such as naltrexone-based medication-assisted treatment (MAT) (Frank, 2016). Among members of this group, many lack access to health insurance and do not have the funds to afford treatment, while others face opposition at work or in the home environment which limits their desire to seek treatment (Frank, 2016). Finally, others in this group may not have the desire to quit using opioids and will not seek treatment (Frank, 2016).
At this stage, funding for increasing access to treatment was somewhat minimal in contrast to the scope of the problem; therefore, it is important to address many of the challenges that exist and how to overcome the difficulties of addiction through increased funding to expand access to treatment for those whose needs are currently unmet (Frank, 2016). In this capacity, the U.S. government must work towards expanding funding under CARA because although the concept of the law is of merit and provides value to the public, it does not provide the necessary comprehensive support that will make a difference for many people who cannot overcome addiction without the necessary treatment options and access to rehabilitation services that are available through many agencies such as The Salvation Army.
References
American Society of Addiction Medicine (2019). Summary of the Comprehensive Addiction and
Recovery Act (CARA). Retrieved from
addiction-and-recovery-act
Caring Magazine (n.d.). Tacking a crack at the opioid crisis. Retrieved from
Dugosh, K., Abraham, A., Seymour, B., McLoyd, K., Chalk, M., & Festinger, D. (2016). A
systematic review on the use of psychosocial interventions in conjunction with
medications for the treatment of opioid addiction. Journal of addiction medicine, 10(2),
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Frank, R.G. (2016). How do we finish the job that the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery
Act started? Retrieved from
Kertesz, S. G., & Gordon, A. J. (2019). A crisis of opioids and the limits of prescription control:
United States. Addiction, 114(1), 169-180.
The Salvation Army (2018). The Salvation Army 2018 Annual Report. Retrieved from
Verge. B. (2017). DOC, Salvation Army unveil new $2.2M plan to help end substance abuse.
Retrieved from ktuu.com/content/news/Dept-of-Corrections-Salvation-Army-announce-
22M-contract-to-fight-substance-abuse-462704443.html
