In the era of smartphones, wi-fi, and social media, a new heroin epidemic is taking hold of a seemingly unlikely group of people. It used to be that heroin use only affected the poor, urban communities; the outliers of society. Today, heroin is gaining a foothold in the suburbs. Story after story unfolds across suburban America. In New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and now Ohio, respectable members of communities are falling prey to the depraved drug, heroin. When heroin users used to be portrayed as alleyway junkies huddling before a garbage can fire under a bridge, people are shocked to see doctors, lawyers, and privileged youths succumbing to the drug.
In 2015, there is an app for everything. Unsurprisingly, there is now an app specifically designed to help recovering heroin addicts. Now, the suburban junkie has an app for restaurants, stock quotes, social interaction, and heroin addiction. Developed by Brandi Spaulding, this new app called, “Squirrel Recovery,” is a free program that allows addicts to social network with other addicts and tracks their daily progress. It also encourages addicts to help one another through life situations that can lead to relapse. Behind the scenes, this app also promotes its connection to some treatment centers for heroin addiction. Brandy exclaims, “I’m hoping the heroin addiction recovery app can help bridge the gap by putting support in an addicts hand 24 hours a day.” After all, a technological world calls for technological solutions.
