The results from the first nationwide survey of persons in recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs released today by Faces & Voices of Recovery documents the heavy costs of addiction to the individual and the nation and for the first time, measures and quantifies the effects of recovery over time. During their active addiction, 50 percent of respondents had been fired or suspended once or more from jobs, 50 percent had been arrested at least once and a third had been incarcerated at least once, contributing to a total societal cost of $343 billion to our nation annually.
ADDICTION RECOVERY IS ASSOCIATED WITH DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS IN ALL AREAS OF LIFE
- Involvement in illegal acts and involvement with the criminal justice system (e.g., arrests, incarceration, DWIs) decreases by about ten-fold
- Steady employment in addiction recovery increases by over 50% greater relative to active addiction
- Frequent use of costly Emergency Room departments decreases ten-fold
- Paying bills on time and paying back personal debt doubles
- Planning for the future (e.g., saving for retirement) increases nearly three-fold
- Involvement in domestic violence (as victim or perpetrator) decreases dramatically
- Participation in family activities increases by 50%
- Volunteering in the community increases nearly three-fold compared to in active addiction
- Voting increases significantly
- Reports of untreated emotional/mental health problems decrease over four-fold
- Twice as many participants further their education or training than in active addiction
THE BENEFITS OF ADDICTION RECOVERY OVER TIME
- The percentage of people owing back taxes decreases as recovery gets longer while a greater number of people in longer recovery report paying taxes, having good credit, making financial plans for the future and paying back debts
- Civic involvement increases dramatically as recovery progresses in such areas as voting and volunteering in the community
- People increasingly engage in healthy behaviors such as taking care of their health, having a healthy diet, getting regular exercise and dental checkups, as recovery progresses
- As recovery duration increases, a greater number of people go back to school or get additional job training
- Rates of steady employment increase gradually as recovery duration increases
- More and more people start their own business as recovery duration increases
- Participation in family activities increases from 68% to 95%
