YORK, Pa. — Coming out of the pandemic, substance abuse disorders are more in focus as some Pennsylvanians seek recovery, particularly alcohol-use disorder.
Ben McCoy with Blueprints Recovery says he’s seen an increase in calls for recovery services. He says the combined rise in mental health issues and substance abuse took its toll on people struggling.
“It just got really bad for a lot of people really fast, and they didn’t see that coming," said McCoy. "It’s just the worst possible scenario for people with substance abuse disorder and co-occurring mental illness.”
Jenn Smith with the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs says calls for recovery services hover around 250 to 300 calls per week, making it the second most reported addiction, only behind opioids.
However, the calls dipped during the beginning of the pandemic, making things challenging for those seeking treatment for alcohol use disorder.
“Not only was it hard to access the treatment services in the beginning, if that’s what they wanted, but also it was hard for them to keep themselves well and prevent themselves from going into withdrawal in getting access to alcohol," said Smith.
Both Smith and McCoy say the most important lesson coming out of the pandemic is to get people struggling the access to recovery services.
“The truth is it’s about programs," said McCoy. "It’s about increasing the size and scope of programs and increasing the number of programs in the state.”
“What has really expanded the access for people is the use of telemedicine, and that’s something that has really accelerated since the start of the pandemic," said Smith.