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By alex king
CTAA Joins effort Countering Opioid Epidemic
CTAA Proudly Joins the National Academy of Medicine's Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic
Here at the Community Transportation Association of America, we recognize the importance that transportation plays as an ancillary, yet critical, support for countering the opioid epidemic. We believe that any opioid treatment and recovery program cannot be effective without incorporating community transportation into the solution, because no matter how great the service, its quality is irrelevant without the means to reach it.
This past week, along with more than 100 other organizations, CTAA was proud to join the National Academy of Medicine in declaring our commitment to reverse national trends in opioid misuse and overdose. The announcement was on Tuesday, April 30, a meeting of the NAM’s Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic.
Founded in 2018 in collaboration with the Aspen Institute, the Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic is a public-private partnership committed to developing, curating, and disseminating multi-sector solutions designed to reduce opioid misuse and improve outcomes for individuals, families, and communities affected by the opioid crisis.
The number of opioid-related deaths – from both prescription opioids and illegal drugs including heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil – has quadrupled in the last 20 years. At present, the opioid epidemic claims 130 lives every day. Addiction and overdose not only destroy individual lives but also erode the health and prosperity of families and communities. The economic toll is significant; according to the nonprofit research organization Altarum, the cost of the opioid crisis is estimated to have exceeded $1 trillion from 2001 to 2017, and is projected to cost an additional $500 billion by 2020.
To provide an opportunity for organizations to discuss and share plans of action, the NAM recently called for and has collected statements describing current work and future goals to counter the opioid epidemic. By making a visible commitment to combating the opioid crisis, these groups, including CTAA, joined the action collaborative as network organizations.
Read CTAA’s Full Commitment statement here, https://ctaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/CTAA_NAM-Opioid-Statement.pdf
- The full list of organizations is available at nam.edu/OpioidNetworkOrgs.
The Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) and its members believe that mobility is a basic human right. From work and education to life-sustaining health care and human services programs to shopping and visiting with family and friends, mobility directly impacts quality of life.