FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
March 1st, 2014 Lisa Lowe, 240-370-1436
Lori Kaufman, 301-943-9249
Find out what's happening in Montgomery Villagefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
RALLY FOR RECOVERY: APRIL 10TH, 3:30 – 7:30
Rockville Town
Center
Find out what's happening in Montgomery Villagefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
200 E. Middle Lane,
Rockville
HUNDREDS EXPECTED
AT RALLY FOR RECOVERY
AT ROCKVILLE TOWN
CENTER!
ROCKVILLE,
MD – Nearly a dozen parents and family members of teenagers and young adults
suffering with a substance use disorder (SUD) are planning a “Rally for
Recovery” at the Rockville Town Center on Thursday afternoon, April 10th. Their goals are to end the stigma of addiction; demand increased prevention, treatment, and
recovery services from legislators; and celebrate recovery.
The organizers of the rally share one thing in common. “We came together to do this because each of
us has a child who has struggled with addiction,” says Lisa Lowe, Founder of
Heroin Action Coalition of Montgomery County.
“When you meet another parent of an addict, you form an immediate bond
with them, without having to say a word about what you have been through or how
you feel,” adds Lowe. “We have all been
through the same hell. Imagine being a
parent of a child with an often fatal mental health disorder, and you know
there is treatment that will save his or her life, but insurance won’t pay for
it, you can’t afford it, what is affordable is of such low quality that it
doesn’t work, and agency executives and legislators who could fix these
problems do not view it as a budget priority.”
“Many people don’t get that this is something that everyone
needs to be concerned about,” explains Nancy Harper, another parent
organizer. “Two thirds of Americans are
impacted by addiction – that’s about 666,700 in Montgomery County. It’s not just the addicts and their families. There are the victims of the crimes
perpetrated by addicts who need money to pay for drugs. There are the taxpayers paying to incarcerate
the 66 to 80 percent of the jail population who meet medical criteria for being
in treatment instead. We know that for every $1 spent on treatment,
taxpayers save $12 in criminal justice and health care costs.”
Harper goes on to add, “The REAL crime is that families do
NOT have to go through all this. We are
dealing with a treatable disease that deserves the same support as other
diseases that do not have all the shame and stigma attached to them.” “People
suffering with an addictive disorder do not have the same access to treatment
and recovery services as those suffering from other mental health or physical disorders
because there is such a huge amount of misperception and stigma surrounding addiction
even within the medical community. In
addition, parents are reluctant to talk about it or to seek help for their
child. Many parents believe that their
child is making a choice to use drugs and they could stop if they chose
to. They simply don’t understand that
addiction is a neurologically based brain disorder that needs treatment.” “Nobody WANTS to be an addict,” contends Harper.
With 300 overdose deaths across the state
since September, drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death
in Maryland, surpassing traffic fatalities and homicides. “These statistics don’t fully capture the
extent of the problem,” Lowe insists. “In Damascus alone, we have lost 16 kids over
the past 4 years who did not make it to their 26th birthday. These are not only kids who overdosed, but kids
who committed suicide because they were tired of battling their addiction and
didn’t know where to turn, or who died in car crashes when they were too high
to drive safely.” “We are not supposed
to bury our children. They are supposed
to be here long after us,” reflects Jill Mayer.
“Too many kids have not survived,” agrees Harper. “I have been to more funerals than I ever
imagined I would attend in a lifetime. I
have cried more tears and supported more heartbroken families and friends than
I ever thought was possible. I never,
never, never get used to these losses.”
“There
are so many gaps in Maryland’s system of care for substance abuse services,
particularly for adolescents,” says Lowe, “that many parents send their child
out of state and pay for these services out of pocket, often mortgaging their
homes and cashing out retirement funds.”
According to the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration (ADAA), 20,000
Maryland adolescents needed but did not receive treatment for drugs in 2010,
while only 5,800 adolescents who needed treatment, received it. “I had to send my pregnant daughter to
California,” says one Rally organizer who wishes to remain anonymous. “I was told by Avery Road that they could
only take pregnant women who did not have insurance. Then I tried other residential programs
throughout Maryland, and I could not get her treatment anywhere in the
state. It is heartbreaking for me that I
may not be there for her when she delivers my first grandchild.”
Lowe
points out, “without sufficient treatment and recovery services for our kids
and young adults, it is often a parent or other family member who takes on the
role of treatment provider, case manager, recovery coach, and relapse
prevention coordinator. Parents are
often ill-equipped to shoulder this responsibility, and it takes an enormous
toll on the family – both emotionally and financially.”
According
to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) seventy-five percent of
mental illness appears by age 24, and fifty percent of lifetime mental illness
starts before the age of 14, but fewer
than half receive treatment. About sixty
percent of these children develop additional addictive disorders due to
self-medicating their untreated mental health disorders. Peggy Weldon, PTSA President for Wooton High
School and a Rally organizer, is disappointed that more is not being done in
the public schools to educate families and prevent drug abuse, “The huge number of students and recent graduates who
are addicted to drugs is staggering. I think MCPS is really dropping the ball on this issue. We were promised in-school programs for
students by Dr. Starr, but we have not seen any implementation of these
programs."
Donna Evans,
a mother of five agrees, “I get the flyer alerting me to be on the lookout for
head lice every year, and what to do if I see the signs. But my daughter has lost nearly a dozen
friends to opiate addiction in the past few years and the school isn’t sending
home any information on the dangers of prescription painkillers. Our kids are not dying of head lice.”
At the only Nar-Anon meeting in
Montgomery County, a group of parents, spouses, and siblings of addicts meet at
Montgomery General Hospital to share stories of heartbreak, resiliency,
strength, and recovery. According to
Mayer, “attendance is growing – typically 40 or more people are gathered on any
given Thursday evening. Many of the
members have children who are either in residential treatment or in recovery.” “There
is hope,” insists Mayer. “There is
recovery”.
“During our first Rally planning meeting, we
shared the reasons why we wanted to hold this Rally,” recalls Lori Kaufman. “It seemed like each one of us had a
different reason for being there. Together,
we were able to agree on a single mission: to celebrate the lives of those in
recovery, offer hope to those still struggling, and honor the lives of those we
have lost.” Her husband, Scott Kaufman,
adds, "We are hoping the Rally will be the first of many community-based
collaborative efforts to achieve our goal of saving lives and giving all of our
loved ones a chance to reach their potential."
# # #
“LIGHT THE WAY TO
RECOVERY”
Two thirds of Americans are impacted by addiction.
That’s 666,700 people in Montgomery County!
Join us to celebrate
the lives of those in recovery, offer hope to those still struggling, and honor
the lives of those we have lost.
Where? Rockville Town Center, 200 E.
Middle Lane
When? April 10:
Rally from 3:30 to 6:30 / Walk from 6:30 to 7:30
What? Live Music & Speakers Featuring:
Why? To end the stigma of addiction; increase access to
prevention, treatment, and recovery services; and…
CELEBRATE RECOVERY