In this newsletter, we fully embrace May and turn our attention to the mothers, aunties, and women in our lives. Many of you know that it was not my own recovery or journey through addiction that pulled me into this work; it was my sister’s death that pushed me to give back to our state and to find lifesaving solutions to this crisis in such a public way.
Allison was just 19 years old when she died. Inspired by our grandmother and her love of children, she wanted to be an elementary teacher. She was a champion for the underdog, a rescuer of strays, and the glue of our family. The baby of the family, my parents waited to baptize her until my brother and I could be her godparents. Our care for her – and the 10-plus-year age difference – brought together the protection of parental love with the joy of being siblings. Her death devastated us and, of course, she is who I think of first when I think of young women who rapidly develop substance use disorders and then lose their lives to addiction.
Allison’s story is not unique: The prevalence of injury and prescribing habits that connect women to opioids; the shame and stigma toward girls and women with substance use issues; the missed cues by primary care professionals, and the lack of adequate and exclusive programing for women and teens with substance use are as much of a problem today as they were 10 years ago when Allison died. We can and must do better.
Yet Allison was still young. In many ways substance use in teens and twenty-year olds can be excused as the thrills and risk-taking of youth…even if it is seen as unladylike at best, or ignored completely at worst, in the minds of those creating programs. The lack of available options begs the question of how women are – or rather are not – being considered when developing programs. This evidence that they are not considered is displayed in even starker relief when women are pregnant or have children. Where do they go? How do we open up options for them? How do we train our staff to eschew any judgement that would prevent these women from seeking care or support? How can we leverage our influence or philanthropic dollars to help this under-resourced population recover?
In this edition we begin this conversation. We highlight Erin’s story of motherhood and addiction. We welcome three new staff members. We pull the women from the data and take a moment to solely focus on how this epidemic impacted them. We present excerpts from a national evaluation of treatment services for women to identify barriers and areas of opportunity. And, finally, we give you an opportunity to join us and Dr. Stephen Patrick for our upcoming webinar on substance use and maternal-infant health. The charge was to highlight the women in the substance use sector. The Live Tampa Bay staff members bring their all to this challenge. We hope you enjoy this edition.
Yours in Service,
Jennifer Webb
Chief Executive Officer
Live Tampa Bay