Make Law the "No Wrong Door" Policy in Massachusetts
Make Law the "No Wrong Door" Policy in Massachusetts
The Issue
If you have a loved one with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and have ever tried to get them help, you know that here in Massachusetts the process is a set up to fail. It is based on a russian roulette treatment of care. The person suffering with SUD must start treatment via detox, yet the detox wants them high for admission. Basing the admission on whether or not their urine is positive or negative is irresponsible. The next steps of treatment programs are CSS or TSS "holdings" and Halfway Houses- and these programs will not take people from the street, regardless of the length of their sobriety. These facilities are dictating they must come from either detox or the "holdings". Hence, our children have been literally dying to get help.
In 2008 the DPH instituted a policy for all facilities that receive any state funds, known as the "No Wrong Door" (NWD). The NWD "embodies an approach of ensuring anyone suffering from substance use disorder is able to get the help they need, when they need it. NWD is a protocol ensuring no requirement that a patient must enter the treatment and recovery system thru ATS (detox) alone". Sadly, facilities are ignoring this policy and the DPH is doing little to enforce it.
To date the only facility we have found that has honored the NWD since its inception in 2008 is Carlson Recovery. Carlson knows that a urine can be negative but the person will still be detoxing and they base admissions on objective symptoms like blood pressures, pulse and GI complaints.
We, the parents of children lost to their addiction as well as parents who are still fighting side by side with their children, want this policy to become state law. We can no longer stand by and allow people seeking help to be turned away for not being "high" enough. This has become a pandemic. Five to six people a day are dying in our state and we know that is too many.
Join us by adding your name to this petition. Each signature will reach the desks of the legislators noted above.
Respectfully,
Christina Kelley, Mother of Jade, 6/7/85
Robin Leonard, Mother of Luke, 11/1/85 – 7/4/15
Darlene Mersereau, Mother of Christopher, 7/9/92 – 10/15/16
Together we can bring change and save lives, failure is no longer an option.
The Issue
If you have a loved one with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and have ever tried to get them help, you know that here in Massachusetts the process is a set up to fail. It is based on a russian roulette treatment of care. The person suffering with SUD must start treatment via detox, yet the detox wants them high for admission. Basing the admission on whether or not their urine is positive or negative is irresponsible. The next steps of treatment programs are CSS or TSS "holdings" and Halfway Houses- and these programs will not take people from the street, regardless of the length of their sobriety. These facilities are dictating they must come from either detox or the "holdings". Hence, our children have been literally dying to get help.
In 2008 the DPH instituted a policy for all facilities that receive any state funds, known as the "No Wrong Door" (NWD). The NWD "embodies an approach of ensuring anyone suffering from substance use disorder is able to get the help they need, when they need it. NWD is a protocol ensuring no requirement that a patient must enter the treatment and recovery system thru ATS (detox) alone". Sadly, facilities are ignoring this policy and the DPH is doing little to enforce it.
To date the only facility we have found that has honored the NWD since its inception in 2008 is Carlson Recovery. Carlson knows that a urine can be negative but the person will still be detoxing and they base admissions on objective symptoms like blood pressures, pulse and GI complaints.
We, the parents of children lost to their addiction as well as parents who are still fighting side by side with their children, want this policy to become state law. We can no longer stand by and allow people seeking help to be turned away for not being "high" enough. This has become a pandemic. Five to six people a day are dying in our state and we know that is too many.
Join us by adding your name to this petition. Each signature will reach the desks of the legislators noted above.
Respectfully,
Christina Kelley, Mother of Jade, 6/7/85
Robin Leonard, Mother of Luke, 11/1/85 – 7/4/15
Darlene Mersereau, Mother of Christopher, 7/9/92 – 10/15/16
Together we can bring change and save lives, failure is no longer an option.
Petition Closed
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The Decision Makers
Petition created on December 14, 2016