March 7, 2014

To the Editor:

Give Rutland, Vt., credit for knowing that it cannot arrest its way out of the heroin addiction problem confronting the community. It is understandable that a city “still mired in the recession” will have many residents experiencing hopelessness and despair, the pain driving the self-medicating behavior.

I believe that Rutland, by providing members of this community with hope for a better life by addressing the problem through a coordinated economic, social and drug treatment approach, will find its way out of this problem.

HOWARD JOSEPHER

New York, Feb. 28, 2014

The writer is president and chief executive of Exponents, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of people affected by drug addiction.

PDF: Read Howard’s NY Times Letter