Cause, effects of addiction focus at Freedom from Addiction Coalition breakfast

Addiction is not an easy issue to tackle. The opioid epidemic is not an easy battle to fight.

But at the Freedom from Addiction Coalition’s breakfast on June 12, community members gathered to take a step toward solutions by talking about the issue.

The Coalition, created by area mayors Stewart Welch of Mountain Brook, Ashley Curry of Vestavia Hills, Scott McBrayer of Homewood and Frank Brocato of Hoover, was established as a way for the communities to come together on the issue, Welch told breakfast attendees, as well as to create a space for those struggling with addiction.

More than 100 community members gathered at Canterbury United Methodist Church on June 12 to hear guest speakers discuss the causes and effects of addiction on those who are addicted and those who are close to addicts.

Richard Simmons III, executive director of The Center for Executive Leadership, focused on how drug use and other addictions are a symptom of deeper struggles.

“We look predominantly to pleasure to produce good feelings, and this is why I believe that modern people have elevated the pursuit of pleasure into a philosophy of life. It’s a driving force for most people’s lives,” Simmons said.

This approach to “happiness” is in stark contrast to the path of virtue, which Simmons said can be another path toward happiness. Quoting Thomas Jefferson, Simmons remarked, “Happiness is the aim of life, but virtue is the foundation of happiness.”

That understanding of virtue and character, he said, has been lost. In today’s world, which can be complex and confusing, it is on parents to pass along these messages to their children, to encourage them to live with meaning and purpose, Simmons said.

“I contend that our young people today are experiencing a great deal of pain in their lives, and they don’t know why, and they don’t know what to do about it,” he said. “So I guess if you get down to it, if you find something to lift you out, why not take it? Why not find a way to medicate it? And I think this is the heart of our drug problem with our young people.”

He encouraged parents to talk with their children through nightly dinners and regular conversations. That way, Simmons said, they would be able to notice changes in behavior early and could help resolve the issue. An open line of communication would also allow parents to discuss the negative effects of the substances that can lead to addiction — whether that is drugs, alcohol or pornography, Simmons said.

Jay Lloyd, the founder of RealLife Ministries at The Center for Executive Leadership, continued the conversation by quoting an article that compared the opioid epidemic to past issues of drug addiction in the country.

“I share this article not to minimize the seriousness of this current crisis, but instead to emphasize that the common thread here, represented in all of these issues, is simply man’s susceptibility to become addicted to mood altering substances,” said Lloyd, who has spent about 30 years speaking with individuals who have been affected by addiction.

Addiction is something that needs to be approached with a focused, community effort, Lloyd said, and he commended the mayors for creating the Coalition with that in mind. 

Those facing addiction face a cycle that also spirals, Lloyd said, which goes through opioid use to cure themselves of feeling pain or discontentment. They may feel relief for a while, he said, but that pain returns — and typically it is worse, leading that person to spiral.

This spiral, however, does not only affect the addicted. It’s a “contagious” disease, in which the drug addiction may not be passed on, but an addiction of “fixing” is, Lloyd said, citing the way family members cycle through wanting to help someone through their addiction, getting a brief relief when they find something out but then spiraling when they cannot find an easy solution.

“If it isn’t your addiction, it isn’t in your power to change that person, and the more you try to change another person, the more unhealthy you become,” he said.

For everyone involved to work to get healthy in their own way, he said, is the best contribution toward battling addiction.

Welch closed the breakfast by announcing the Recovery Resource Center, a new program of The Crisis Center at Cooper Green Hospital. The Center will launch a 24/7 phone number on tomorrow, June 13, which will provide resources to those in need. The number is 458-3377.

Following the breakfast, individuals could also participate in a Narcan training program, where they learned how to administer the overdose-reversing drug. By participating in the training, individuals could take home an Opioid Overdose Kit containing two doses of Narcan.