Arts Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Crisis

“This Arts Endowment report offers hope through evidence-based resources about the arts’ healing power.”…“Although this report was commissioned long before COVID-19 erupted, it shows that results are promising when arts strategies were integrated thoughtfully with clinical and community-based health solutions. Given the present-day strain on the public health system, these lessons may prove more valuable than ever before.” https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Arts-Strategies-Opioid-Crisis.pdf The Remember Love Recovery Project aims to transform perspectives and actions through art making and education. The time for action is overdue: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics more than more than 200 Americans are dying every day from drug overdoses during the pandemic. The global pandemic causes disruptions to medical, psychological, social, spiritual and economic support nets – even for those who are in relatively good health and stable economic standing. The coronavirus is multiplying the vulnerability of those with addiction disorder and exacerbating the lethal circumstances of their condition. More than 72,000 people died from drug overdoses in the U.S.A. in 2019, and  overdose deaths keep climbing during Covid19 conditions, expected to top 83,000 in 2020 when final statistics are compiled. Let's perform dance, play music, write poetry, make art and lengthen lives.