“There are no needles hanging out of people’s arms, pictures of the brain, or fried eggs in a pan. We set out to find the answer to one very fundamental question: Why don’t we treat addiction in this country like any other health issue?”
The Valley Partnership for Drug Prevention is bringing the feature documentary film Anonymous People back to the Roaring Fork Valley. If you missed the premiere last fall this is your opportunity to see the game-changing film which is helping bring recovery solutions into the nation healthcare debate. The film will be shown free of charge, Thursday, May 15th, 2014 at 7:30 PM at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen. Jaywalker will be taking clients and Alumni to view this important film. We will depart the Lodge at 6:30 and invite our Recovery community to join us.
The Anonymous People features interviews with more than 30 people among the millions in long-term recovery from drug and alcohol addiction who are making the courageous decision to speak out publicly.
They, and the film, question why the United States has criminalized and too often given superficial treatment to a chronic illness – addiction. As a result, addiction now comes with an annual price tag of $350 billion. The American approach has put most of the burden of long-term addiction treatment on anonymous, free, 12-step programs. Those programs have done a good job, but no other health problem is treated this way.
In addition, the culture of anonymity in these programs, while it has protected individuals from stigma, has also unintentionally perpetuated false perceptions of people with addiction – as the public doesn’t see how often people in their lives recover.
With Gratitude,
Mark Kloster
Alumni Coordinator
