The Sandgaard Foundation News: If we want to rock the opioid crisis…

If we want to rock the opioid crisis…

we’ve got to band together

band/noun: a thing that unites

September is National Recovery Month and for the first time in years, we are finally able to say that we are making progress in the fight against the opioid crisis. In August alone, we saw landmark wins in court like the momentous decision out of Oklahoma that held Johnson & Johnson directly responsible for the state’s opioid problem. In addition, virtually every state plans to increase its funding, and work to build out programs focused on advocating for those in need of a safe and accepting recovery space.

However, this is just the beginning. To ignite real change, we have to band together. The Sandgaard Foundation—a private Denver-based foundation created to help end the opioid crisis—is calling on corporations and giving foundations to use National Recovery Month as a springboard to create non-traditional coalitions focused on supporting initiatives that create fast and positive change. Examples of these initiatives include projects like; Ryan Hampton’s the Voices Project which focuses on changing the stigma associated with addiction and offers a platform for anyone affected by addiction to tell their personal story, or Colin Dwyer’s Opioid Crisis Response Fund (OCRF) which focuses on getting Naloxone into as many hands as possible in order to save lives.

This September, we are all needed to make a difference.

The costs of the country’s opioid crisis are estimated to have exceeded $1 trillion from 2001 to 2017 and are projected to cost an additional $500 billion by 2020, according to a 2018 study by Altarum, a nonprofit health research and consulting institute. As you can see, addiction is devastating, both personally and financially.

Let’s end this crisis in our lifetimes, and support those in recovery who need it the most. If you would like to help rock the opioid crisis, here are a few ways to connect:

• Send the Sandgaard Foundation a message at Connect@SandgaardFoundation.org
• Follow the Sandgaard Foundation on social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram)
• Take the Sandgaard Foundation’s 360 survey to help identify areas of opportunity

“We talk about living well, about misdiagnosis, healthcare and insurance costs, addiction and recovery, and who is to blame. But we don’t talk about solutions. Nor do we acknowledge that every person and every affected industry must step up to help.” -Thomas Sandgaard, Founder

To find out how you can get involved, visit our website: www.sandgaardfoundation.org

or connect with us on social: @SandgaardFnd.