George Hawkins

As a product of the Blue Ridge Mountains, I can attest to the prevalence of substance abuse crises disproportionally facing the rural U.S. The consequences of pushing the strongest chemicals known to man on unaware patients have been severe and have destroyed more than just that patients biology. Getting hooked on supposedly helpful chemicals like opioids wipes out the brain, body, and relationships simultaneously. While the long-term solution is knocking corporations like Purdue off their pedestal, we can intervene in the form of addressing symptoms and consequences at the local and personal scale. One form of assistance is providing a physical asylum operated by personnel who know what they're doing. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe committed to this idea in the form of renovating and expanding their treatment clinic in Clinton, OK.