[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT INFORMATION:
TruHealing Centers
Contact – Tom Gill
Phone – 410-807-8471
Email – [email protected]
RELEASE DATE:
July 22, 2020
AMATUS RECOVERY CENTERS’ SOCIAL JUSTICE SCHOLARSHIP WILL GET PEOPLE INTO ADDICTION TREATMENT INSTEAD OF JAIL
THE SCHOLARSHIP WILL HELP REMOVE BARRIERS IN AFRICAN AMERICANS’ ACCESSS TO TREATMENT
OWINGS MILLS, MD, July 22, 2020 — People facing jail time for drug charges now have another place to turn. TruHealing Centers—which provides treatment for substance use and mental health disorders in facilities across the country—is offering $750,000 worth of scholarships to African American people struggling with addiction. This will fund all levels of care, from initial detox through outpatient treatment.
African American people face barriers to quality treatment. One study found that white people with Opioid Use Disorder are nearly 35 times more likely to receive buprenorphine, a medication that curbs cravings and can prevent overdose. African American people and white people use drugs at similar rates, but African Americans are incarcerated for drug offenses at six times the rate of white people.
Amatus wants to help change these statistics. “No one should be punished for having an addiction,” said TruHealing Centers COO Michael Silberman. “Everyone with a Substance Use Disorder deserves high-quality treatment and support. We feel lucky to be able to provide the Social Justice Scholarship to people who otherwise wouldn’t access treatment.”
Matt Bell, CEO of Midwest Recovery Center—an Amatus Recovery Center in Toledo, Ohio—shares this sentiment. Bell was one of the first clients of D.A.R.T., a program that focuses on addiction treatment instead of jail time. He now works with that same program, and is a passionate advocate for prevention and education in his community.
“It’s important to give people with Substance Use Disorders a chance,” he said. “People are capable of so much when given the right tools and resources. We don’t want anyone to slip through the cracks.”
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