By Marilyn Blake Philip/Register Correspondent

editor@inyoregister.com
Re-entering society is no easy feat for people recovering from substance abuse. Aside from the medical, mental health and legal considerations which often color this journey, people in recovery face challenges ranging from the corporeal, such as housing and employment, to the ethereal, or spirituality.
Among the many local agencies and programs designed to help people get in and stay in recovery is The Spirit of Recovery. And during September’s National Recovery Month, the program will be continuing its efforts to help substance-abuse recoverers to help themselves by offering several rehabilitation opportunities.
Retired Reverend Caddy Jackson, who created The Spirit of Recovery, said most people don’t realize how expensive the societal fallout from substance abuse is in terms of institutional resources to medical and mental health services, law enforcement, social services and so on.
“We would save every institution a significant amount of its resources … So many basic service calls are directly or indirectly a result of substance abuse. If we can cut substance abuse in half,” he explained, its effects could be cut in half. He went on to list effects such as drunk driving, homelessness, teen pregnancy, student discipline problems, domestic violence and families at risk. For example, “as a pastor, I found that substance abuse was a major factor in nearly every divorce that people came to me about … It’s a core issue” in many contemporary social ills, said Jackson.
The rest of the article is available on the Inyo Register’s Website.