Substance use can’t live in the shadows

A sparse hotel room. The dim light of morning. The sound of sirens. Now red and blue lights. Two lives lost. News stories about two more drug-related deaths in our community.

That’s the scene and tragic end of a continued substance use disorder. It’s also the result of a lack of attention to an issue that impacts our entire community.

Because substance use disorders don’t exist in isolation; they’re interconnected with homelessness, mental illness, and physical health. And they don’t discriminate. People from all walks of life can find their lives ruined—right here in our area. And unfortunately, they often reside in the shadows.

Fentanyl continues to be a lethal threat to Iowa: between 2019-2024, fentanyl deaths in our state increased by 23%.

Iowa currently has the second highest rate of cancer in the country, with substance use playing a major role.

Homelessness is rising in our state: nearly 17,000 households are estimated to experience homelessness in 2025.

And during the holidays and long winter months, the stressors that fuel substance use only intensify. The recent overdose deaths of two people in Cedar Rapids can cause a feeling of hopelessness. Our reactions to headlines about drug overdoses and deaths are visceral.

But if that’s it—if that’s where we stop—the tragic stories will continue.

At ASAC, we work every day to change people’s perceptions because we know it’s the only way things will ever change. That means keeping people as the focus. Not addicts. Not junkies. Not just another statistic. Humans in need of help.

At the same time, we feel the stress and see the glaring holes in our government resources. Local nonprofits—like ASAC—are the ones working tirelessly to fill those gaps, but we need more support.

Our services make the difference in saving lives, but it all starts with changing the narrative. That’s what works and leads to statistics that give us hope.

Like reaching 114,328 people through ASAC’s prevention services in 2024. Serving another 3,219 individuals through treatment. Countless lives saved from the perils of drugs and alcohol.

None of that is possible without visibility and support.

What does that look like and how can you help?

One way is through expanding advocacy. We need more (and louder) voices speaking up about substance use disorders. Every conversation, every post, every share grows awareness. That’s what brings this out of the shadows and into the light.

The other way is financial support. There’s no denying that donations empower our work, allowing us—and other human services organizations—to grow services, strengthen our presence, and help more people.

Those forms of support create what we call ASAC moments.

Those don’t occur in dim hotel rooms. They happen in the full light of day. And they don’t end in death. Instead, those moments are when people regain what they’ve lost to substance use: housing, their families, the will to live. And with every one of those moments, our community heals.

Stephanie Boesenberg is executive director of the Area Substance Abuse Council (ASAC) in Cedar Rapids