Heroin, meth and other substance abuse addictions are on the rise right now according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
UAB's Addiction Recovery Program, which now cares for patients virtually, is seeing it too.
“I think some people are relapsing and then I think some people just don’t have the means to connect, and some people think we're not having services," said program director Bronwyn McInturff.
The program normally has 30 patients, but in the last month has seen anywhere from twelve to twenty, she said.
“With COVID hitting, we’ve seen a lot of people losing their insurance and have a reduction in the amount of disposable cash that they have," said McInturff.
However, hope is on the horizon.
“You never really know exactly what that phenomenon is connected to but we’ve seen a lot of inquiries last week and this week," said McInturff.
The start of the pandemic kick started virtual sessions and it’s been an unimaginable success.
McInturff said she remembers one success story clear as day.
“We could tell they were getting better because their hoodie went from the eye space, like this, to slowly coming down from there head," McInturff said.
Councilors are using virtual queues to understand and care for their patients.
You can read more about the program by clicking here.
“Where are their camera angles today, are they speaking, did they put something strange in the chat box," said McInturff.
She said the challenge has always been reaching more people and getting their loved ones involved in the recovery process, now the pandemic has brought them all together within one screen.
They plan to keep virtual session as an option even when in-person sessions return.