On mission.
According to the Alcohol & Drug Foundation, it can take five or six attempts on average before a person successfully maintains sobriety; with even more attempts needed for certain individuals. At Stand Firm, we believe that means we have five or more opportunities to share compassion and plant seeds of hope so that they might take root for future harvests of lasting change and wellness.
The Springfield-Greene County Health Department shared a news release with the 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment, which noted more than 4% of the Springfield Community (Greene, Christian and Webster counties) has a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) — a rate higher than the rates for both Missouri and the United States, at 3.3% and 3.5% respectively. Sadly, this leads to a higher addiction-related mortality rate than the rest of our state and nation, at more than 27 deaths per 100,000 residents in the Springfield Community.
Drug and alcohol related deaths have very steadily increased over the last few decades; by alarming rates since the COVID-19 pandemic. And many professionals believe individuals battling SUD are far more sick now than they ever have been before due to harsher drugs including synthetics, and higher proofs of alcohol being sold; as well as it being socially glorified for everyone, from teens to stay at home moms, to self medicate with alcohol or designer drugs.
Yet somehow, amidst all of this irrefutable data, many healthcare payors are moving away from covering medical detox services, leaving many local programs to have either shut their doors or change to a model that does not include medical detox. Many are now only providing “social detoxes” which provide continuous monitoring but no medical assistance to relieve symptoms. And oftentimes hospitals aren’t able to accept individuals until their symptoms are severe and painful beyond comprehension. Sadly, many individuals share that the fear of sickness and pain causes them to avoid detoxing from drugs or alcohol altogether, thus keeping them in a constant state of use.
While we will accept insurance, our mission at Stand Firm is to be available to all those who are struggling, and to not turn anyone away; regardless of whether they have insurance or an ability to pay for services or not. We believe everyone deserves the same compassion and accessibility to quality medical care.
It is Stand Firm’s primary mission to serve the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of those we serve; and while the time we have to care for individuals is so valuable, we also understand it’s limited. That’s why we believe in a true holistic wellness approach, and will fulfill that by providing resources and partnering with other community programs to educate and equip individuals to continue caring for all 8 dimensions of their wellness — physical, emotional social, intellectual, environmental, spiritual, vocational and financial. This is a vital piece of our services because numerous studies have proven that the rate of relapse is lower when more dimensions of an individual’s wellness are properly cared for.