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Consumer Perspectives: Substance Use Treatment and Mental Health
This article is part of a quarterly series giving voice to the perspectives of individuals with lived experiences as they share their opinions on a particular topic. The authors are served by Services for the UnderServed (S:US), a New York City-based nonprofit that is committed to giving every New...
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The Critical Role of Peer Support Programs to Sustained Substance Use Disorder Recovery
Many people who have used behavioral health services can attest to the profound benefits of connecting with someone with shared experience. Finding others with common lived experience - often referred to as peers - and learning about their challenges and resilience are particularly valuable for...
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Caring for Yourself: Learning to Live with a Substance Use Disorder
Substance use and misuse have reached epidemic proportions across the United States. In a 2020 survey, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimated that more than 40 million individuals across the country over the age of 12 have a substance use disorder, with...
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Consumer Perspectives: Overcoming Mental Health Challenges
This article is part of a quarterly series giving voice to the perspectives of individuals with lived experiences as they share their opinions on a particular topic. The authors are served by Services for the UnderServed (S:US), a New York City-based nonprofit that is committed to giving every New...
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Addressing the Intersection between Severe Mental Illness and Homelessness
Services for the UnderServed (S:US) is one the largest community-based health and human services organizations in New York State that works intentionally daily to right societal imbalances by providing comprehensive and culturally responsive services. We provide services to people living with...
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Stigma: How Vocabulary and Language Can Make a Difference
Compassionate language can improve care and change the stigma associated with substance use disorder. The terms or phrases healthcare providers use to discuss substance use are often imbued with negative connotations that create bias. Research shows harm reduction-based vocabulary and education can...
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The Ways That Stigma Hurts People Who Use Substances and How to Help
Stigma hurts, when stigmatizing language is used against those with substance use disorders. In a study by the Recovery Research Institute,1 314 survey respondents were asked to answer questions about two individuals who were using substances. The only difference in the way that the individuals...
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Early Mental Health Screening and Intervention Could Halt Addiction Epidemic
The epidemic of substance use disorder (SUD) has become a plague on our society, resulting in countless deaths, overwhelming our health care and justice systems, and taking a terrible toll on the families of those suffering from this disease. While billions of dollars have been poured into...
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From Crisis to Recovery: The Role of Peer Support Specialists at NYC Well
In her foreword to Intimations, written on May 31, 2020, novelist Zadie Smith states that as a result of reading Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, she discovered “two invaluable intimations. Talking to yourself can be useful. And writing means being overheard.” That she...
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Consumer Perspectives: Housing is Essential for Recovery
This article is part of a quarterly series giving voice to the perspectives of individuals with lived experiences as they share their opinions on a particular topic. The authors are served by Services for the UnderServed (S:US), a New York City-based nonprofit that is committed to giving every New...
