Do We Care When It Doesn’t Affect Us?Do We Care When It Doesn’t Affect Us?
RAW Recovery Podcast
Dion Miller challenges the idea that people only care about addiction, homelessness, and overdose once it hits their own lives. Through blunt advocacy and recovery experience, he questions systems, calls for accountability, and urges genuine community care over comfort and big business.
42:13•7 Sept 2026
Do We Only Care When Addiction Hits Home?
Episode Overview
- Caring about addiction, homelessness, and mental health only when it hits close to home is a common but dangerous pattern.
- Dion challenges local officials on missing detox services and unclear use of funds, stressing that records do not replace accountability.
- Addiction is described as affecting everyone now, making it harder to pretend it is someone else’s problem.
- Recovery communities, especially AA, are urged to give back through service and sponsorship rather than staying comfortable.
- The growth of recovery as an industry raises concerns about body brokering and whether suffering people remain the true priority.
“"Everybody says they care, so maybe the real question is not do we care. Maybe it's how close does somebody else's pain have to get before it matters to us?"”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol and then throw themselves into advocacy for others? This RAW Recovery Podcast episode centres on that exact tension, as host Dion Miller wrestles with the hard question: "Do we care when it doesn’t affect us?" Speaking straight from lived experience, Dion shares his frustration with Adams County’s stalled plans for a detox and crisis centre, reading out the exact speech he’s taking to local commissioners.
He asks them directly, "What are your true intentions with this money? And when is Adams County finally going to follow through?" It’s not abstract policy chat; it’s about real people who are dying, overdosing, or being turned away. The tone swings from sharp humour to raw honesty.
Dion jokes about Colorado’s new "state bird" being the ostrich for how often heads are buried in the sand, but he doesn’t soften his core message: addiction affects everyone now, whether people admit it or not. He challenges those who say they care about addiction, homelessness, and mental health, yet only spring into action once it touches their own family. For people in recovery, he pushes another uncomfortable truth: sobriety isn’t a spectator sport.
He calls out those who were saved by AA yet avoid service, reminding them, "Somebody helped us before we had anything to offer back." He also takes aim at the recovery industry, body brokering, and treatment centres that feel more like luxury businesses than lifelines. This episode speaks to anyone in recovery, loved ones of those struggling, and people who work in services but feel disillusioned by systems.
It’s messy, honest, and full of uncomfortable questions that might leave you asking yourself: how close does someone else’s pain have to get before you act?
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