Dear President-Elect Trump – Because Addiction Is Above Politics
Dear President-Elect Trump,
We are writing as Americans who, regardless of political affiliation, are deeply concerned by the addiction crisis ravaging our country. You shared openly how alcoholism devastated your brother Fred’s life. In fact, addiction to alcohol and other drugs impacts 45 million Americans and their families. As you heard during the campaign, 21 million families today are being torn apart by substance use disorders, thousands more bury their children each year- at ever-younger ages, and drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death in America.
This is the opening paragraph of a letter written by Facing Addiction for whom I working to help gather as many signatures as possible to encourage President-Elect Trump to tackle the addiction crisis early in his administration. For as those of us who love someone with a substance use disorder and for those of us who are in the grips of this disease know – addiction is above politics. And we are a force to be listened to because collectively, we represent approximately one-third the American population.
Just how much above politics do we consider addiction to be?
“Supporters of both candidates agreed on only one thing…They gave addiction the highest combined score and the smallest partisan gap of the 13 issues deemed to be the most pressing issues of our country. On that list was terrorism, illegal immigration, climate change, job opportunities and gun violence,” said Jim Hood, Co-Founder of Facing Addiction, in his address November 17, 2016, when the Surgeon General released “The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health.”
Think about it – addiction received the smallest partisan gap and the highest combined score as the most pressing issue facing our country!
As I’ve previously written, over 20 million Americans have substance use disorders. That is about the number of people who have diabetes. It is 1.5 times the number of people who are living with all forms of cancer, yet only 10 percent of those struggling with a substance use disorder are getting the treatment they need. Clearly this is a public health crisis.
So please join me in signing Facing Addiction’s letter to President-Elect Trump, and lease encourage your friends, family members, and colleagues to sign it, as well.
Lisa Frederiksen
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Hi Lisa,
Great that you are sharing this letter to President-elect Trump. I have signed and look forward to sharing the letter as well. The more people who sign, the better. As you have mentioned, “addiction received the smallest partisan gap and the highest combined score as the most pressing issue facing our country,” so we have no excuses. There is so much work that needs to be done. Thanks for all that you are doing to spread awareness. Happy 2017 to you!
Thank you so much, Cathy, for signing and sharing it with your connections. Happy 2017 to you, as well!
Lisa, this is powerful information and hits the nail right on the head. The numbers are staggering and I personally know a lot of people that need help who cannot get it. I have signed the petition and hope that we can get congress to listen!
It really is, isn’t it, and thanks so much for signing!
Lisa, thank you for your efforts on trying to change this fast growing epidemic in our country. We need to stand united as a country and start taking things a little more seriously and get back to the basics. This needs to start from the top up before we will see a real change. I known folks that have gotten treatment and have still struggle so we need to address what is going on in our society. The fabric of this great country has changed and we need to be speaking out about this without the shame and guilt the some people feel. thank you for what you do.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this, Cindy – I couldn’t agree with you more! I appreciate your kind words, as well.