Interactive map helps people find substance abuse recovery options

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Making the decision to get help was the first step for Hunter Taylor, Executive Director at Lifeboat Addiction Recovery.

“When I finally decided to get clean, I was kind of at this point in my life where it’s either, I didn’t really want to live anymore, or I wanted to figure out a different way of life,” he said.

The next step was finding the right place to do it, an obstacle that he said takes more than an internet search to overcome.

“You’re going to get numbers for in-patient, out-patient, therapists,” he said. “You’ll get places that don’t exist anymore, Alano clubs. It’s very overwhelming.”

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is trying to fill in the gap with an interactive map called the Michigan Substance Abuse Disorder Locator, or MI-SUD.

“We’re combining a lot of detail about location, types of services that are offered, contact information, phone and website, and then payer information, whether or not those programs and services accept Medicaid,” said MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel.

Mid-Michigan Recovery Services Executive Director Patrick Patterson said, the faster they can get someone through their door, the better.

“You’ve got strike while the window is hot,” he said. “Whether it’s alcohol or stronger drugs, there is that window of opportunity and then cravings start.”

Even more important, he said, is the opportunity for Medicaid users to find a recovery center that falls under their coverage, like Mid-Michigan Recovery Services.

For Taylor, it means hope that more people can get the care they need to free themselves from addiction. He said Lifeboat will be there as a resource too, helping people find their recovery community.

“Clinical-based recovery doesn’t work for everyone, but it works for some people. Peer recovery works for some people it doesn’t for others,” he said. “So, to be able to choose those things and have an understanding of the resource you’re about to access can be, indescribably helpful.”

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