Five Things To Look Forward To In The Coming Year

In 2020 many people in recovery felt the impact of COVID-19 and had to address the unique challenges that came from it. They suffered mainly because the twelve-step meetings were shut down, and zoom meetings became the norm for a while. This was followed by catastrophic aftereffects where relapses went to an all-time high since the pandemic caused meetings to shut down.

While the zoom meetings were a positive change, sadly, many of our residents were denied the experience of fellowship. They were isolated, which caused depression and loneliness, leading to not all a relapse or more serious issues like overdoses and suicide.

Although, 2020 actually had a positive impact in a business sense. Our facility was full in a matter of days. Residents developed a sense of unity amongst themselves by helping each other when one was feeling overwhelmed by the fact that there were not many places to go and get out of the house. They began to spend more time with their recovery materials learning more about their demise.

In the last twelve months, we have fared very well and as mentioned before there were many great changes. So, after adapting and evolving to the effects of the year that have left a significant mark on many people in different ways, we are bracing ourselves for some drastic changes these following months.

1. The increase in fentanyl use will lead to more overdoses
The increase in fentanyl use will be the number one cause of deaths and overdoses in addiction. It will, in our opinion, be labeled as a pandemic all on its own. The only way to beat the addiction is to be admitted into treatment and live a life with complete abstinence, a complete change in attitude towards life, and the good things that are in life that we become blind to when we are active in our addiction. In regards to our business, our numbers will definitely increase.

2. Lack of support and facilities for the increase in relapses and overdoses
The increase in overdoses and relapses will cause the number of people seeking treatment and sober living facilities to increase. The addition will be too great for the number of facilities to handle the overload. Also, not everyone will be able to afford private care; a definite input by the government will be needed and distributed fairly to everyone who has a facility that helps individuals be in recovery and provide the essential resources to maintain a life of abstinence.

3. A rise in drug-related crimes
The main impact will be that we will not be able to cater to all that are inflicted by addiction, waiting lists will increase for everyone from treatment centers to transitional living facilities to therapists, and counselors will be overwhelmed by these increases to the point that people will be denied help when they most need it because of lack of beds available. Addiction is far more expensive to the individual than treatment, and when the addict runs out of ways to provide for their habit, they will turn to a life of crime, causing them to commit selfish acts of crime. As a people, we can not afford to let this happen. We must, at all costs, make treatment available to whoever is seeking help.

4. Increased attendance at twelve-step meetings
This will be beneficial to everyone that is involved in the addicts’ recovery. Twelve-step meetings bring many benefits with them, the most important being awareness and surrender. The individual will have a sense of belonging at meetings; they will no longer feel alone. They will have a place where they can feel accepted and safe. With awareness comes individuals wanting to seek help; therefore, facilities will see an increase in their numbers which means revenue which means more resources will be able to be started to help those who want the help.

5. Law enforcement presence
With the pandemic comes the illegal distributors of these narcotics; therefore, an increase in law enforcement agents will be needed to stamp out those selling these narcotics to our children to our brothers and sisters, and parents. No one is exempt, and dealers know this, so they will be ready to handle it as should the police be ready.

To know more about the expectations of our recovery program or just advice on sober living, reach out to Iggy’s Sober Living. We are an alcohol and drug addiction transitional living center in Toronto, ON, helping individuals looking for immediate help or evaluations. Our mission is to transition our clients back into their everyday life, recognize and recover from the effects of addiction, and ultimately live fulfilling and rewarding lives. Our services include transitional living, individual counseling and therapy, relapse prevention, integration back to society, group meetings, online counseling, aftercare, and family program.

For more information, please click here or get in touch with us by clicking here.