Oakland, CA—Independent Institute is proud to join North America Recovers, a nonpartisan coalition seeking federal, state, and local reforms to encourage recovery from—and end the enabling of—addiction, untreated mental illness, and homelessness. Forming this coalition are broad range of grassroots leaders, policy experts, political figures, parents of those experiencing homelessness, and recovering addicts from the US and Canada.

Members stand united to push back against destructive policies that enable addiction, destroy lives, and devastate communities.

The coalition launched an advertising campaign with mobile billboards showing the mother of a homeless fentanyl addict, captioned “President Biden: Please Help My Son Escape Addiction the Way You Helped Hunter.”

The campaign targets Biden’s Department of Justice, urging it not to allow “supervised drug consumption sites,” where taxpayer-funded healthcare workers assist anyone over 18 to inject or smoke fentanyl and other hard drugs. Such sites often attract more crime.

In response to a lawsuit by a group in Philadelphia that wants to open a drug-use site, the Justice Department said in early December that it would decide by early February.

Joining the North America Recovers alliance is a move which complements Independent Institute’s extensive work on housing, homelessness, and addiction, including the Beyond Homeless initiative, which analyzes and provides proposed solutions to the policies driving the homelessness problem in San Francisco and across North America. The companion documentary, Beyond Homeless: Finding Hope is as much a visceral presentation of the root causes of homelessness as it is a hope-filled call for solutions. It is narrated by Mary L. G. Theroux, Chairman and CEO of Independent Institute.

“Open air drug markets, and government-sanctioned drug dens are not helping people get into recovery. An array of solutions addressing the real needs of those experiencing homelessness and suffering from addiction and mental illness is needed, including medically-assisted drug treatment with an aim of recovery, emergency shelter, and on-demand mental healthcare. Ideally these are provided in a centralized, safe, and comfortable campus setting where each individual can access the resources they need to overcome their barriers and achieve their full potentials. There are great examples where this is working today,” said Theroux.

To interview Mary L. G. Theroux, contact Robert Ade, [email protected], or (510) 635-3690.

INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE
100 Swan Way, Oakland, CA 94621-1428

The Independent Institute is a non-profit research and educational organization that promotes the power of independent thinking to boldly advance peaceful, prosperous, and free societies grounded in a commitment to human worth and dignity. For more information, visit Independent.org.