WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) yesterday introduced bipartisan legislation to provide families with the tools they need to support their loved ones living with addiction. The Family Support Services for Addiction Act would provide $25 million in grant funding to help nonprofits and community organizations provide support services to families with loved ones seeking addiction treatment.
“As we continue to combat both the COVID-19 pandemic and the addiction crisis in West Virginia and across the nation, it has become clear the strain these dual battles have on those struggling with addiction and their loved ones,” Senator Capito said. “Now, more than ever, individuals and their families are feeling isolated, ashamed, and unsure where to turn for reliable information and advice. This bipartisan legislation will hopefully provide family members with the support, resources, and information they need to assist both their loved ones struggling with substance use disorders and all within their family who are impacted by it.”
“The pandemic has exacerbated our country’s addiction crisis and we must bolster support services for those seeking treatment, and their families, to combat this troubling trend,” Senator Gillibrand said. “Equipping families with the resources they need to support loved ones battling addiction and substance use disorder is essential for recovery, especially during a pandemic that has isolated many families. Passing the Family Support Services for Addiction Act would deliver vital funding for financially strained mental health care and substance use disorder support programs and ensure resources are available to families helping people recover from substance use.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated challenges for those already suffering from mental health and substance use disorders as Americans have adjusted to social isolation, increased financial stress, loss of work, lack of structured time, and daily uncertainty. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated challenges for those already suffering from mental health and substance use disorders as Americans have adjusted to social isolation, increased financial stress, loss of work, lack of structured time, and daily uncertainty. Provisional CDC data reported over 81,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States between July 2019 and June 2020 — the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period. This included a 33.9 percent increase in overdose deaths in West Virginia.
Before the pandemic, families with individuals who have a substance use disorder often struggled to access basic support services, and even when services are offered, they usually come at an additional cost. Now, as providers and organizations are overwhelmed by need and struggling to stay afloat because of the financial uncertainty originating from the pandemic, these services are even harder to access. This makes it difficult for families to help their loved ones seek treatment and prevention services or navigate other social service systems. The Family Support Services for Addiction Act would establish a federal grant program to help nonprofits and community organizations offer support to families of individuals struggling with substance use disorder. This would help empower families with knowledge and resources to support their loved ones throughout their addiction and improve recovery outcomes.
The Family Support Services for Addiction Act would bolster national and local community programs that offer family support services by delivering $25 million in grants through the Department of Health and Human Services over five years. Family support services include caregiver peer support, education and training, systems navigation for families trying to access treatment and other resources, counseling services, support groups for those in crisis and for those who have lost loved ones, and skill-building.
Full text of the legislation can be found here.
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