I have watched first hand my whole life as loved ones and friends fell into the darkness, loneliness and loss that drug abuse and addiction bring. Unfortunately growing up on Kauaʻi, losing people to the deeply ingrained addiction issues in our society is not uncommon, many of us have lost loved ones. I have lost some of the closest people in my life in this way and understand the struggle family members face when dealing with drug and alcohol addiction in the home or with a loved one.
We must be committed to addressing the drug abuse issues holistically and alongside other interconnected core social issues we face. We need to provide affordable housing and reduce the cost of living that drives people to depression, illegal activities and drug abuse.
We have lost countless loved ones on Kauaʻi to overdoses, suicides, tragedies and the side effects of drug use and addiction. For many of us there is nothing more painful than this reality and our inability to help those that we love. It is a heavy burden that our community carries and something we cannot brush aside, jail away, or ignore. We must face it together. Our situation is dire and our youth need a brighter future.
We need to do everything we can to expand mental health services and access, provide treatment and therapy to those struggling with addiction and come up with real solutions that don’t just temporarily bandaid the problem. It’s so much deeper and needs so much more energy and resources. On island treatment centers are taking so long and are limited, we need programs and safety nets in every community, we need more, much more! We need guys up stream, down steam, mid stream pulling people to safety. We need to get the drugs off the streets, out of our ports and address this fentanyl problem, as if it’s a pandemic, with all the resources it takes to save lives.
