Restore funding for heroin treatment

First off, I would like to applaud this publication for having the guts to cover the heroin problem that is plaguing the suburbs as well as the city of Chicago.

I am a recovering addict myself and I used for more than 10 years, but have been sober since 2008. I have gained a ton of knowledge about this problem from personal experience as well as through the addiction counseling program at Waubonsee Community College.

The issue I have is with the state of Illinois and its politicians. It has been reported in many publications that the Chicago area has the worst heroin problem in the country ... so why in the world do we cut money from the addiction field year after year when so many people depend on it to save lives?

My concern is not about getting a job for myself. This is about the people who have been affected by heroin. They have nowhere to go in our state. Programs are stretched thin and they are forced to close facilities and/or cut down on the number of people that they can serve.

Counselors have gigantic case loads and are stretched thin. Heroin addiction is nearly impossible to overcome without some sort of professional help. Experience shows me that many heroin addicts overdose, get incarcerated, or die while waiting months and months to get into overcrowded treatment programs. Counselors work hard and are underpaid in a often thankless job, but the chance that just one person can find the gift of sobriety keeps them going. Families are put back together and these addicted people are restored to the wonderful people that they (really) are.

Call your senators and congressmen and make sure this population of addicted people does not go untreated. It might just save someone’s life. Like the saying goes, “Nothing changes if nothing changes.”

Mike Zurava

Batavia