Addiction is a complex illness, impacting people and communities in many ways. Its societal and humanitarian cost are staggering. Some solutions work for some people. For others, the range of available treatment options is not effective enough to address the severity and difficulty of their problem, or to prevent it from degenerating into chronic illness.
Addiction is most likely to affect all of us directly or indirectly at some point or another in our lives; It may be a family member, a friend or a work colleague. We must do more and we must do better to address this problem.
We believe that British Columbia and Canada need access to more and newer addiction treatment and prevention strategies. We must improve the availability and effectiveness of addiction services for those who need it the most. We also need to expand the toolkit available to help people facing substance use challenges. It is clear to us that a multi-disciplinary, integrated approach is required to successfully address BC’s addiction and related mental health challenges. Our health care system is well suited to adapt to this evolving knowledge.
We believe that solutions are emerging through collaborative work and investment by a range of organizations around the world. We believe that the private and philanthropic sectors, with their shared emphasis on pragmatism, efficiency and return on investment, can play a valuable role in helping to deliver effective solutions, working closely with health professionals, organizations and governments.