How Nancy Came to Create a Mobile App from our Indiegogo Campaign

Resources for Families and Friends of People Seeking Recovery from Addiction

Columbus, Georgia, United States Community

Our Journey

22.6 million people in the United States use illicit drugs. It costs $400 billion a year in the United States alone. Addiction kills 350 Americans a day. And addicts are not the only one affected by their use. Their family and friends are also impacted. While there are apps on the market for people seeking recovery, there are none for their family and friends.

My journey into the world of addiction began in 2010 when I realized my daughter was an Oxy addict. I became aware of how it affects all classes and income levels. Yet the stigma of addiction keeps most families quiet. Surprisingly, when I mentioned my daughter’s issues to someone, more times than not, they also had someone involved in the struggle.

There are 23.5 million people living in recovery. Take this number and multiply it by everyone caught up in the fight, not only the one working for recovery, but their extended family and friends and those trying to help them, then you begin to understand how immense is the population impacted. Addiction has to be the leading cause for this decade. Drastic improvement will occur over the next few years as there is more discussion, more openness, different treatment options, change in government policies, and better networks of those affected.

When I first was introduced to this world, my immediate concern was for quality treatment - what options were there and which were best for detox, residential treatment, sober living facilities, and intensive outpatient treatment. Initially, I wanted to help others by developing a referral system for treatment programs and the differences in them but I discovered there are so many and, instead of finding answers and support, there were only more questions and issues to explore.

In 2012, I had a major shift in my focus. While I was attending the “2012 Social Slam, The Evolution of Digital Media for Marketing” conference in Knoxville, I heard the words “just start”. So I did.

I collected the links where I had looked for information and organized all these resources into one place so others could come and learn and share -Links for awareness, Links where answers could be found to questions and needs - A place that would allow these individual communities and their information to come together.

This place is now an Android app “You are Linked to Resources for Families of People Seeking Recovery”.

What started as a simple idea last May and was working on our cell phones last June has developed into a much bigger project.

from Indiegogo