Oct 27, 2021
When Khrista Messinger, a 46-year-old who works for the City of Charleston, W.Va., requested time off from work to seek treatment for her substance abuse addiction she was told by her employer that she needed to use her sick leave and vacation time.
“I’ve been an addict most of my adult life and I decided to seek treatment once I finally saved up enough vacation and sick hours. You can’t go into recovery and not be paid,” said Messinger, during a phone interview with The Well News.
Data shows that while 20 million Americans are negatively affected by substance use and addiction, only 10% seek treatment.