Women lack access to basic addiction treatment and recovery support services | Opinion

It happens in communities all across the world. It’s happening in our own backyards, even amidst a continuing overdose epidemic. Women still lack access to basic addiction and recovery support services.

I witness every day the need for women to be able to live in safe and supportive recovery housing and have access to transportation, treatment and other services that support their recovery journey.

I know firsthand the need for women to be able to access affordable, quality addiction treatment and recovery support services like housing. I have worked with many women who, without access, are not able to maintain their recovery and go back to life on the streets or worse.

Without this access, many women in our community are losing their children or dying from addiction and substance use.

Research from 2022 suggests that despite an increase in substance use disorders and substance misuse among women, this demographic comprises less than one-third of individuals in treatment nationally. There is also a lack of accessible women-specific treatment and recovery support services options like recovery housing.

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Furthermore, research also suggests women and other marginalized groups face greater barriers to treatment, including stigma, the pressures of child care and caregiving for extended family, and fear surrounding legal repercussions like Child Protective Services involvement. Women who are pregnant face additional challenges. Many are not able to access addiction treatment and face added stigma and shame associated with being pregnant and using drugs, as shown by a 2020 study conducted by Vanderbilt University.

Along with a lack of access, women face specific needs when it comes to specialized support that many services aren’t equipped to provide. According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, women who use drugs “have a two to five times higher prevalence of gender-based violence” as compared to those who do not engage in substance use. This includes childhood sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, non-partner assault, and sexual exploitation and trafficking. They are also at a higher risk of developing infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis C and other blood-borne infections.

Instances of significant trauma for women with substance use disorders are high, but there is a lack of accessible and affordable specialized care and resources.

How to support women in recovery

There are several ways that communities in Tennessee can help support women’s access to quality addiction treatment and recovery support services like recovery housing.

First, community resources can increase the referral of women to specialty treatment services, like treatment for trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. Second, treatment resources can address gender-specific barriers to treatment and recovery support services, like offering child care options. Finally, we can all support the women in our lives by encouraging them to seek help when they need it and assisting them with the other multitudes of responsibilities women have, like employment, child care and extended family care. Find a women’s addiction treatment center or recovery support service in your community and offer support today.

Two options for getting started

Susannah’s House in Knoxville is a faith-based, not-for-profit, outpatient facility with programs that provide ongoing treatment and support to pregnant and postpartum moms in recovery and care for their children – at no cost to them.

First Recovery offers peer support, recovery programming and activities for women in or seeking recovery in the Oak Ridge area.

Caroline Beidler, MSW, is an author, recovery advocate and founder of the storytelling platform Bright Story Shine. Her new book is "Downstairs Church: Finding Hope in the Grit of Addiction and Trauma Recovery.". Caroline lives in Tennessee with her husband and twins and enjoys hiking in the mountains and building up her community’s local recovery ministry. Connect with her @carolinebeidler_official and Caroline Beidler, Author | Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Opinion: Women lack access to addiction treatment, recovery services