As Americans live longer, elder abuse is becoming an increasingly important public health and social service issue. While many people think of elder abuse as physical violence, abuse can take many forms, including emotional abuse, financial exploitation, neglect, abandonment, and violations of personal dignity and autonomy. Unfortunately, elder abuse is often hidden. Many older adults…
From gilbertocintron.com For decades, addiction treatment systems have focused heavily on one primary objective: helping individuals stop using substances. That work remains critically important. Detoxification, treatment access, overdose prevention, relapse prevention, and crisis stabilization save lives every day. But as I continue researching the concepts of Aging in Recovery and the Aging in Recovery Residential…
From gilbertocintron.com For decades, public discussions about addiction have focused primarily on active substance use, homelessness, incarceration, and crisis. Far less attention has been devoted to the large and growing population of individuals who achieved long-term recovery years ago and are now aging into later adulthood. Many of these individuals rebuilt families, careers, and stable…
From gilbertocintron.com For decades, public systems in the United States have approached addiction and aging as entirely separate issues. We developed addiction treatment systems for people struggling with substance use disorders, and we developed aging services for older adults requiring assistance later in life. What society failed to anticipate was that millions of people would…
From gilbertocintron.com The conversation around substance use disorder has historically focused on treatment, detoxification, relapse prevention, and early recovery. Far less attention has been given to what happens after recovery succeeds—especially when people age. Today, millions of Americans identify as being in recovery from alcohol or drug problems, many of whom are now entering older…
From gilbertocintron.com As more Americans live longer, a new population is emerging that has received far too little attention: older adults in long-term recovery from substance use disorder. Many people assume that once a person has remained clean or sober for years, they simply age like everyone else and can rely on the same senior…
From gilbertocintron.com The question is no longer whether individuals age in recovery. The question is whether existing data support treating them as a distinct population requiring a different model of care. The answer is yes. Current research provides a clear foundation for this conclusion. An estimated 20.5 million Americans identify as being in recovery from…
From gilbertocintron.com For decades, the goal in addiction treatment has been clear: help people get clean, stabilize their lives, and sustain recovery. And for many, that goal has been achieved. But now we are facing a new reality. A growing number of individuals who entered recovery in the 1980s and 1990s are aging into their…
From gilbertocintron.com The development of systems addressing substance use disorders and aging has occurred along separate trajectories. Treatment systems have focused on initiating recovery, while aging systems have evolved to address chronic illness and long-term care. The convergence of these two realities—long-term recovery and population aging—has produced a structural condition that existing systems were not…
From gilbertocintron.com Social work has long been a field defined by its response to visible human need—crises, poverty, institutional neglect, and systemic inequality. Over time, influential figures such as Dorothea Dix, Jane Addams, Mary Richmond, and Saul Alinsky shaped frameworks to address urgent social problems. Yet despite this evolution, a critical phase remains underdeveloped in…
