Amy Winehouse was a reflection of the names that we don’t know. She was a mirror to the ones that we don’t see. The ones that we pass on the street. The artists, brilliant business minds, moms, daughters, fathers and yes singers whose songs are not heard. The ones who don’t always have a voice. The ones whose talent is being drowned out in a wine bottle, pill or hit.

To face addiction sometimes a face is needed for it. So often we categorize our rock n’ roll idols as another one lost to the limelight when it comes to addiction. But the reality is, it simply is another one lost. The reality is, that it is a much broader problem than one relegated to music stars, it is a world crisis.

According to the World Health Organization, Alcohol Addiction kills more than AIDS, tuberculosis and violence. It accounts for 4 percent of the deaths worldwide. And the war on drugs? It is still being fought at a cost of about $500 billion a year. But sadly, the war is bigger than drug dealers and cartels. It is a war for the mind and body. And as is the case with war, it is a battle that should have never started. A tremendous internal struggle where there is often no clear winner or loser.

The biological and psychological warfare that drugs wreck onto its victims are often hard to overcome, as was the case with Amy Winehouse. And this is not a rush to judgment as to her cause of death. Are you really living when you are the throes of drug addiction? In and out of jail, tremendous weight loss, depression, poor appearance, not being able to function and perform sounds like Amy Winehouse right? It also sounds like the millions of others who battle alcohol and drug addiction.

So yet again, we have a drug addiction face to face. What can we live and learn? Our attitudes about drug addiction needs some rehab. It’s not just their problem it’s ours. We must offer support to our friends, neighbors and loved ones dealing with the issue. We must see the faces of the disease and we must act.