"They don't understand addiction like they should. It's a complex thing," he said. "It almost feels like they threw me away like some trash." That's when Bloch found Carolina Treatment Center of Fayetteville, a medication-assisted program that uses methadone and other treatments – a strategy the Army frowns upon – to help addicts turn their lives around. "This place definitely saved my life. I probably would have overdosed, honestly," he said. "I believe, over the last few years, we've jumped into a more progressive, solution-minded mindset," said Amy Garner, director of Carolina Treatment Center of Fayetteville. Goolsby agreed that new strategies and cooperation were needed to tackle the opioid epidemic. "We have become more enlightened, I think, the more that we understand about opioids," she said. VA officials said one of the biggest challenges is getting veterans to ask for help, noting addiction is one of the leading contributors to veteran homelessness. Goolsby said a study on homeless veterans first tipped officials to the scope of the addiction problem. Bloch now takes classes at Fayetteville Technical Community College, where he's studying to be a counselor, like those who helped lift him out of addiction. "There's hope out there," he said.
"In 2010, we had about 480 presentations of OPIOID dependence. In 2016, we had 1,800." -John Bigger, director of Behavioral Healthcare Services 13
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