Most people are feeling the pinch of social distancing and the pull of social gathering.

Let us be honest, we are social creatures by nature. It is part of what makes us human.

But for one segment of our population, living in total isolation can be dangerous — and in some sad cases, downright deadly.

Like every other segment of the population, drug and alcohol addiction counselors had to pivot quickly (and creatively) in order to ensure clients and addicts struggling to remain clean and sober weren’t derailed by the pandemic crippling outreach efforts across the globe.

Linda Franiewski and her team of dedicated, committed counselors recognized early on there could be trouble on the horizon. The executive director the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center in Butler said Monday the center started teleconferencing with clients almost at the onset of Gov. Tom Wolf’s orders that shut down the state and called on residents to shelter in place.

“It’s been a lifeline for many people,” Franiewski said. “They don’t have a lot of other options.”

She points out how addicts are both isolated and struggling in the wake of COVID-19 and its shutdown of individual counseling and lifeline groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Counseling and groups that, for many, are oftentimes the only stalwart standing between recovery and relapse.

However, that said, Franiewski said the center is seeing positive results with the process. The ability of addicts to be able to reach out and continue meeting with counselors via phone and videoconferencing has proven positive.

In fact, the center is now compiling data collected by surveying clients. So far, anecdotal feedback from staff shows the effort is being met with open arms by addicts without avenues in these uncertain times.

It is also leading the Gaiser Center and agencies like it across the state and country to envision how this newfound method of reaching out to struggling addicts can play a role in their future toolboxes.

Obviously, as Franiewski points out, nothing will ever be able to adequately replace face-to-face meetings or group therapy, but being able to reach out via video and phone certainly comes with benefits. This is especially true for addicts facing other, oftentimes more pressing, barriers like childcare needs and transportation.

But imagine a world where an individual struggling with addiction is just a phone call or mouse click away from a safety net keeping them from crashing.

We all hear the talk about the “new normal” as we emerge from beneath the weight of this global pandemic. Could this adjustment in serving people battling addiction be an unforeseen positive?

We would like to think so and encourage state and federal leaders to consider the future possibilities for those who dedicate their lives to working with an often overlooked and underserved population trying so desperately to turn it all around.

Funding for addiction services has long been a struggle in this country. Now, as counselors and those in recovery are discovering new ways to connect and find support, let us ensure when we look at future funding that we remember this success.