NJAMHAA Members Help Address Public Health Crises; Many More Resources Needed

The New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies (NJAMHAA) is proud of its member providers who offer treatment and support services to help individuals with substance use and/or mental health disorders achieve recovery. While these services have always been and will continue to be invaluable, the importance of having access to them when needed is underscored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) recent report about the overall life expectancy nationwide declining by nearly four months since 2014. This decline is largely attributed to significant increases in overdose deaths from opioids and fentanyl (a synthetic opioid) and suicides.

The rate of drug-overdose deaths escalated between 2015 and 2017, and the increase was most significant among adults aged 25 to 54 years, according to the CDC. Most of these deaths were associated with use of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. In 2017 alone, deaths from synthetic opioids increased by 45%, killing more than 70,000 Americans– the highest number in a single year to date.

Also in 2017, the national suicide rate increased by 3.7%, the CDC reported. Most of the suicides and drug-related deaths are of young to middle-aged adults. However, all age groups are at risk and tragically, resources are not sufficient for any population.

These staggering numbers underscore the critical need for expanded access to treatment for both substance use and mental health disorders. In fact, the majority of individuals with addictions also have mental illnesses. Our state and nation cannot afford to focus on just one type of illness. Care must be integrated to address not only addictions and mental health disorders, but also physical illnesses, which are also highly prevalent and frequently not treated among individuals with substance use and mental health disorders, leading to mortality decades earlier than the general population.

NJAMHAA will continue to serve as a spokesperson for the behavioral health industry, advocating on the state and federal levels for greatly expanded resources that are needed to address these public health crises.