addiction treatment

A couple of blocks off U.S. Route 12 in Walla Walla, Blue Mountain Heart to Heart has been treating people with substance use disorder for over a decade. But, for years, the nonprofit was unable to quickly offer a proven treatment for opioid use disorder: medication-assisted treatment.Staffers would have to arrange for patients to get an assessment with a trained substance use professional elsewhere to start the medication. Getting that assessment, and then, getting started on the medication, buprenorphine, used to take weeks.

Addiction is a hard cycle, and recovery is a long, rewarding journey. Taylor Helmstadter of Moses Lake knows this. In this edition of StoryCorps Northwest, she talks with producer - and new friend - Naomi Love about the 12-step program and re-learning to love yourself.

(Runtime 3:33) Like much of the nation, Benton and Franklin Counties are experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of people dying from overdoses and…

Nez Perce tribal member Mary Jane Miles was two when her mother died. That was the start of a series of difficult events in Mary Jane’s life. But she persevered to earn an education and come to terms with alcohol addiction. She spoke with her friend and colleague, Kayeloni Scott, for StoryCorps Northwest.

This was meant to be the year we answered a big question about the deadly opioid epidemic: Will drug companies that make and sell prescription pain medications be held liable? That clarity never came.

Even if we weren't in need of another road-trippy-addiction memoir, Peter Kaldheim's book recounts his very human efforts to swim to shore with compassion and gratitude.

The practice of locking up people who are chronically sick, mentally ill or drug addicted in under-resourced city, county and regional jails in Washington is resulting in inmate deaths and a failure to “treat all people humanely, respectfully, and safely,” according to a new report by the statewide nonprofit law firm Columbia Legal Services.

Every week, tens of thousands of Americans complete intensive drug and alcohol rehab programs. The next months, however, are fraught with risk of relapse. A treatment counselor or supporter can't monitor you around the clock. But now your always-on smartphone can watch you, coach you, alert your mom and even give rewards.

Washington's Snohomish County declared the opioid epidemic a life-threatening emergency. They use a multi-agency coordination group straight out of FEMA's playbook to respond to the crisis.

A Washington state senator who says he’s heard from “literally hundreds of parents” of adult children who are struggling with mental illness or addiction wants to allow families to petition for temporary guardianship.