Florida Rehabs Kicking Out Patients During Hurricane Irma
Florida is no stranger to hurricanes. Whether it be Hurricane Andrew, Wilma, or Irma, Florida residents know what to expect when Mother Nature is at her worst. With contingency plans in place, some Florida residents have chosen to evacuate the state to safer ground, while others have decided to stay and brave the storm. Drug rehabs are no different than any other residents of the state except for the fact that their job is to take care of addicts, get them clean and sober and onto the road to recovery. With the approach of Hurricane Irma, some Florida rehabs have chosen to kick their patients out, so as to not have to take responsibility for them.
According to an online forum, I came across today, some rehabs in the state are actually kicking patients out before the hurricane makes landfall. All this does is takes an addict, who probably came to the state with the hopes and dreams of becoming sober and starting a new life and completely pulled the rug out from underneath them.
This is NOT okay!
Not only are some of these rehabs kicking their patients out but also, some of these patients have nowhere to go while this powerful storm approaches the area and are being rendered homeless. It’s not like you can just book a flight out of Florida right now because most flights have been booked solid and the ones that aren’t are so prohibitively expensive that most families couldn’t afford the ticket. Leaving the state by car is virtually impossible right now because, with all of the mandatory evacuations, most of the major roadways have been turned into virtual parking lots with all of the people fleeing the state. Meanwhile, while these addicts are being kicked out of rehab during a major natural disaster, families of the addicts are back home pacing back and forth, biting their fingernails, and making endless amounts of phone calls in order to help their loved ones who are now roaming the streets of South Florida as Irma bears down.
As someone who works in drug rehab, I can’t see how any treatment provider can just turn their backs on the very people who are depending on them for help. How can any treatment center not have a plan for what to do in a situation like this? Further, how can they just kick them to the street without setting up any kind of plan for them to go to another treatment center or to receive continuing care? Unfortunately, most of these addicts will end up relapsing. I mean, what else will an addict do who is put in a situation like this who has no firm foundation of recovery?
They’ll become apathetic and use.
Basically, these treatment centers who have decided to pack up and leave while kicking their patients to the curb have put these addicts lives at serious risk. If the storm doesn’t kill them, the drugs certainly will.
Everyone out there should know that Narconon Suncoast can still help.
If you or a loved one has been displaced because of Hurricane Irma or just needs help that will actually work, call us today at 877-850-7355.
