Page 20 - BusinessWest November 14, 2022

did better during the pandemic because the social restrictions helped them avoid some of the triggers they might normally have encountered more frequently. Meanwhile, regulatory changes around access to treatment allowed patients to take home medications they could not previously.
“So patients in treatment have done quite well,” she went on. “The real issue was the patients who were not already engaged in treat- ment and were unable to do so.”
“People are reluctant to hire somebody with an history of opioid addiction; people are reluctant to house somebody with a history of opioid addiction, in lots of ways that aren’t based in reality, but based in fear, based in discrimination, based in stigma.”
The DPH found clear evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on mental health and led to increased substance use and poorer mental health across the Common- wealth, especially among BIPOC communities and LGBTQ+ individuals.
“We continue to be relentless in our commit- ment to increase access to harm-reduction servic- es, low-threshold housing, and treatment,” Health
and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said. “By working to destigmatize addic- tion and meeting people where they’re at, including with an expanded array of harm-reduc- tion tools, we can reverse this negative trend.”
Locally, organizations com- mitted to improving behavioral health — and removing the stigma and barriers that keep people from accessing care — are doing just that.
Support System
Palmieri said it’s important to remember that recovery doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but is tied to social determi- nants like housing and eco- nomic stability.
“Whether it’s opioids or
anything else, our role is to
help people understand what’s
getting in the way of their
René Piñero and Christine Palmieri say addiction recovery often goes beyond recovery and help fill the void
treatment and entails social supports like stable housing.
that used to be filled with
drugs or alcohol with things
started using in the first place, someplace they
they can find meaning in,” she told BusinessWest.
can afford and sustain — but also to find employ-
“We’re not only interested in sobriety and helping
ment, something that gives their life meaning
people stop using, but also, what are you going
beyond using, something they can wrap recovery
to do instead? Our primary goal in our residen-
around.”
tial programs and our housing programs is to
René Piñero, vice president of Behavioral
make sure people have a safe, affordable place
Health & Clinical
to go to live after treatment, someplace that isn’t
Operations at MHA,
Opioids
necessarily the same neighborhood where they
said the pandemic
Continued on page 22
Staff Photo
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20 NOVEMBER 14, 2022
HEALTHCARE
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