(NewsNation) — The Partnership to End Addiction (PTEA) honored NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Tuesday at its New York City gala.
Vargas has been candid about her experience with alcoholism. During PTEA’s live panel, she challenged the judgments that reinforce stigma around substance use disorder.
“It is really something we need to do something about because right now, despite the fact that so many people suffer, only 10% are estimated to get the help, the quality help that they need,” Vargas said. “It’s too expensive. It’s too difficult to find. People are too ashamed to ask about it, and the reason they’re ashamed to ask about it is because we don’t talk about it enough, and when we do talk about it, it’s with whispers.”
A storyteller, Vargas views sharing people’s experiences as an opportunity to demystify topics that might otherwise feel isolating, she said.
“I wrote a book, and I’m grateful that I still hear from people who tell me it saved their lives … the more we can talk to people and get them to talk openly, and the more people can hear their stories and hear, ‘Oh, she’s just like me. He’s just like me. They’re just like my dad, or my mom, or my sister,’” Vargas said.
“I’m no different,” she continued. “And maybe we can somehow puncture the shame that still surrounds this disease and still keeps so many people from getting the help — the life-saving help — they need.”
Vargas was joined by Ground Control Parenting Founder Carol Sutton Lewis and BET Media Group President and CEO Scott Mills.
