Battle against addiction takes community effort

The battle against opioid abuse and the resulting blow to families, cities and, indeed, the whole nation is being fought on many fronts.

Churches, schools, health departments, hospitals, police and EMS personnel and private facilities offer what they can to bring the deadly epidemic to a halt . ...

Lawmakers have strengthened guidelines for the prescribing of opioids . ...

Institutions have expanded their facilities to allow addicts to detox in an environment other than county jails.

Counseling and positive affirmation of addicts’ journey back to drug-free living all play their part in the multilevel road to sobriety.

A local couple, Melanie and Matthew Witt, believe so strongly in the need for continued help for recovering addicts, that they have committed to opening a halfway home for women.

Soon, women struggling to get their lives back on track can live in a group setting of their peers, receive counseling and learn life skills in their temporary home on Homegardner Road in Castalia . ...

We commend and support the couple in their endeavor and urge others to do the same.

Few families have escaped the scourge of heroin and other opioids, either directly or through friends and neighbors.

Over the years, we’ve often heard that group efforts are needed to raise children. It turns out that it also takes a village to bring the addicted back to being clean, healthy and productive citizens.

Read the full editorial from the Sandusky Register at bit. ly/2ATWL85