Stephen Kavalkovich considers the moment when his doctor prescribed Suboxone as a major turning point in his struggle with opioid addiction.

“It helped to address the craving and the chemical dependency. And it helped me to finally start addressing those underlying emotional issues and trauma that I had never dealt with.”

However, not everyone is as lucky as Stephen. Legal and regulatory restrictions, stigma and other barriers make it difficult for many patients to access FDA-approved medications to treat opioid use disorder.

People and families struggling with substance use and addiction encounter a variety of systemic challenges throughout their journey, which is why we created a new section of our website called “Help Us Change the Story of Addiction.” The site features personal stories like Stephen’s that bring these structural barriers to life. Each story highlighted will offer visitors an opportunity to advocate for specific policy change by signing an action alert or by sharing similar stories from their own journey.

Let’s start re-writing the story of addiction today.