180 people die every day from a drug overdose.
Every 10 seconds, a patient is admitted to an Emergency Room.
From the cities to the suburbs, the opioid epidemic is a public health crisis of unimaginable scale. This is not just an addiction problem; it is a mental health epidemic that is increasing year over year nationally and internationally. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death, outstripping traffic fatalities, and gun homicides.
Told through the eyes of those suffering from addiction and their loved ones, PEOPLE LIKE YOU tells the story of addiction from those at the front lines: patients and those that love them.
Greg, barely surviving on the streets of Los Angeles, has been in and out of treatment centers for years, the victim of his own addiction and a broken system. How to Save a Life Foundation, founded by a group of bereaved mothers from Philadelphia, are on the front lines. Starting from the streets of Philadelphia they are actively working to petition the government to mandate insurance companies to increase coverage of inpatient addiction treatment from mere weeks to at least ninety days. Congressman Patrick Kennedy – himself an addict in recovery – calls for the radical rethinking of how substance abuse disorder is treated in the United States, declaring it a public health crisis comparable to cancer and AIDS but with a fraction of the funding allotted towards finding a solution.
Directed by Emmy-award-winning director Andy Capper and produced by Paul Edalat.