Drug Program Aids Staten Island Prescription Drug Abusers
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John Scarabaggio’s near-death overdose is a story that’s heard far too often on Staten Island, where prescription drug abuse is rampant.
Some Sound Advice to a Parent With a Teen Struggling With Drug Addiction
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I’ll never forget how my hands shook as I gripped my office phone that afternoon. My 16 year-old son called tell me he was a drug addict and that he needed help. Right now. I must admit I did have suspicions he’d been involved in drugging. His behavior had changed.
Jessica Williams: One Parent’s Advice for the Juvenile Justice System
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Sharon Smith’s daughter Angela died in 1998 of a heroin overdose. She was 18 years old. For four years before her death, Angie was in and out of 11 treatment centers, stood before a half dozen judges, and lived at one juvenile detention center. Sharon formed MOMSTELL in 2000 to advocate for more effective, accessible drug treatment and greater family involvement across the continuum of care and in the policy-making process. “Because no family should have to face the disease of addiction alone,” MOMSTELL is committed to identifying and removing barriers to treatment, many of which Sharon encountered when trying to find help for her daughter. Sharon was one of the organizers of the "national dialogue" sponsored in 2009 by SAMHSA for Families of Youth with Substance Use Disorders. Here, she illustrates some of those barriers specific to juvenile justice. When Angie started to use drugs, were there adults in her life who tried to help her?