Just Love More, Inc.

Every week I make 20-30 sack lunches for my clients and outreach work. Though I usually have access to free (donated) bread, I pay for the rest out of pocket because we all deserve access to nutritious food.

The average cost per lunch is $1.75 and includes a sandwich (meat and cheese or peanut butter & jelly), chips, fresh fruit or fruit cup, and a bottle of water.

Want to help? Here are some ways to support financially:

Venmo:
PayPal: [email protected]

Or set up a one-time or recurring donation through GAgives, at https://www.gagives.org/donate/Just-Love-More

I recently had a client go through the process of beginning Suboxone for Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for his opioid addiction. It took me a few weeks to be calm enough to write about the experience, but I finally did so in a blog post, because the experience was an example of how MAT should not be handled, and I need to do what I can to ensure that this never happens to anyone again.

link: http://justlovemore.org/getting-started-on-mat-a-cautionary-tale

People who work in film are often traveling in unfamiliar locations. If you are visiting Atlanta for work and need access to Narcan, fentanyl test strips or other harm reduction supplies, send a text to Michael at 404-921-8898 and I will help connect you with what you need while you're here.

Narcan provided by Georgia 911 Good Samaritan Law
Service provided by Just Love More, Inc.

Please share if you feel it may be of interest to your circles.

The Derrick Stanley Memorial Scholarship exists to honor the memory of a man who left this world far too early. Today is the third anniversary of Derrick’s passing on August 28, 2019. I post each year on the anniversary of his loss to offer an annual glimpse into what has taken place quietly in his name. I hope this update will offer some solace in the storm of grief from Derrick’s loss, and help in some small way to ease the pain of those who loved him.

The Derrick Stanley Memorial Scholarship was created to enable Just Love More to better help individuals in substance abuse crisis who were ready for assistance in defining and achieving recovery on their own terms. Often, the only obstacle bigger than admitting someone needs help is figuring out how to get it.

Since 2019, the scholarship has provided that support to 13 individuals. All recipients have received medical, mental health, and addiction screenings and have maintained regular counseling check-ins with me. We flesh out individualized treatment plans and set goals for 30 and 90 days, 6 months, and 1 year. Part of this process involves defining what recovery means to them, because Just Love More does not believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach. That means reaching many others with one-on-one counseling and harm reduction support.

13 people to date have been given the opportunity and support they needed to step into recovery. I am proud to report a few achievements and milestones over the past three years:

1. 11 scholarship recipients have met their individual 30 and 90-day goals.
2. 6 recipients completed 90 days or more in an inpatient treatment facility.
3. 2 recipients have met their 1 year goals.
4. 1 recipient is now a Certified Peer Specialist.
5. 3 recipients have reunited with their family after extensive estrangement.
6. 2 recipients have been awarded their GED.
7. 1 recipient is working to complete a degree in social work and will graduate in 2023.
8. Purchased & distributed 3,000 fentanyl test strips & taught hundreds of people to use them to reduce potential harm from fentanyl overdoses.

We accept donations to the scholarship year round, but we also set aside a percentage of every dollar donated to Just Love More for the Derrick Stanley Memorial Scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.justlovemore.org/scholarship

For people who smoke their drugs from a glass pipe, this 2" piece of tubing vinyl or PVC is harm reduction. By using it as a mouthpiece, the smoker reduces their risk of burns, cuts, and infections.

We cut our own mouthpieces at a cost of roughly $0.07 each, and provide them as part of our harm reduction outreach program. Our program provides a wide range of safer use harm reduction supplies to people who use drugs, because reducing the risk of harm is a form of recovery all by itself.

Be informed and stay safe.

Monkeypox in the U.S. Learn more about monkeypox in the United States.

All too often, love and compassion are viewed as extracurricular activities when the truth is, they are foundational necessities.

In case you haven't been told lately, you are loved exactly as you are right here, right now. You don't need to do anything to deserve it, and you don't have to do anything to keep it.

Don't let your circumstances define you. You are worthy of love, and you can change your life for the better when you are ready.

It's easy to let our worst days define us, but we all make mistakes. Remember that no one else can write our story unless we hand over the pen. If you're still breathing, you still have a story to tell. You are the author, so take control of the narrative and make the next chapter the best one yet.

Approaching the world with a judgmental mindset is a learned behavior - a defense mechanism that serves to deflect attention. When we aren't at peace with ourselves, our subconscious can find it easier to put the spotlight on perceived faults in others instead of working on ourselves.

Judging others is hurtful and destructive. Love builds and strengthens.

Today, JLM recognizes International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. This day was created in 2004 to draw the attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by le***an, gay, bis*xual, transgender, inters*x people and all other people with diverse s*xual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and s*x characteristics.

The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homos*xuality as a mental disorder.

For more information, visit https://may17.org

Have you ever heard of Xylazine? Here's a quick primer on what you should know.

Ashley

People who smoke drugs are more prone to dry, cracked, and burned lips. Open sores are painful and more likely to spread disease. Our upcoming safer use kits for smokers will include lip balm and mouthpieces to reduce the damage and the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and viral hepatitis.

Joyce

The so-called War on Drugs has been an abysmal failure due to the misconception that drug use and addiction will diminish when someone is made to face legal consequences. The data proves this to be wrong. 1 in 5 people - around 374,000 people per day - are incarcerated for drug offenses in the United States. Few incarcerated people are granted access to FDA-approved medications for the treatment of alcohol or opioid use disorder.

We've got a lot on our plate right now, so our Tuesday night Zoom group chats will resume in May. Can't wait to see you then!

We thought it would be interesting to see how many different states are represented by orders for our new JLM "Harm Reduction is Recovery" t-shirt. Every state shaded in red has at least one order. Thanks for supporting harm reduction!

Join the cool kids and order yours at www.justlovemore.org/shop

Isadore

Haley

A survey finds that approximately half of the patients said that they were carrying naloxone after their ED visit and two-thirds planned to continue carrying naloxone in the future.

Providing naloxone in the emergency department can save lives | Penn Today

If SB 1891 passes in Tennessee, Health care providers and anyone "called upon to tender aid" would be legally compelled to report a drug overdose to law enforcement and to the District Attorney General's office.

Bill would require hospitals report if a person is suffering a drug overdose to police in Tennessee The bill, SB 1891, would require health care providers to immediately report when a person is suffering from a drug overdose to local law enforcement.

The Role of Supervised Consumption Sites for People Who Use Illicit Drugs This Medical News feature discusses supervised consumption sites for people who use illicit drugs.

“I’m not going to stop people from doing drugs in the bathrooms of bars and nightclubs,” Barnard says. “If we can put test strips out there and make the stigma go away about people being afraid of that, I think a lot of people might stay alive.”

Cincinnati Bartenders Have Become a Line of Defense Against Fentanyl-Laced Drugs Area bartenders are armed with fentanyl detection strips and Narcan training to prevent overdoses.

Jessica

“People battling addiction deserve get-well cards too.”

People Battling Addiction Deserve Get-Well Cards, Ex-Paramedic Says And she wants more people to start doing it, too.

Stacey

Michael Nolan (JLM founder)