Category: Addiction/Substance Misuse

CareTalks Presentation Video

8 minutes

I am so grateful to have a community partner like McShin Foundation and I’m honored to have been invited to present at the Care Talks event focused on solutions for addiction.

I am still quite hoarse from gamma knife radiation (voice slowly improving) in this video and struggling at times to get sentences out above a whisper. But I got it done! Thank you Tim Alexander and team for shooting the videos.

See other inspirational Care Talks here.

Transcript

I had hoped to be standing before you today telling you about my success story, Charles.

But 2 years … Read more...

The display that stopped traffic

So four of us are setting up at the Out of the Darkness walk hosted by AFSP, American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. I look over and see a group from the McShin Foundation putting up the display you see featured here on this page. They, of course, had permission to erect the display and I was glad to see recognition of the link between suicide and addiction. McShin has recovery programs and housing for 18+ and just started a Recovery School, McShin Academy, at St. Joseph’s Villa.

It takes about four or five people 2.5 hours to set it … Read more...

I need your stories

Your stories help others. And I want to share them.

If you are in recovery, what was your rock bottom? Did you lose custody and how did you feel? How have you been treated? How many funerals of friends have you been to?

If you have lived experience as someone who suffers mental illness, tell us what it’s like to have an invisible illness.

If you have a child or loved one that suffers from a mental illness or addiction or you have lost a loved one, I’d like you to tell your story.

A piece of that story. Something … Read more...

Preventure at one more school in Richmond, VA?

VCU and Beacon Tree will be resubmitting the PreVenture grant to NIH in November. Big grants take a long time and we had to make some changes per the NIH review.

While we wait, we might as well get the ball rolling and implement Preventure at one more school through Beacon Tree. Hanover County, VA is doing one school now, with a grant they got from ABC. That makes them the first in the US. There are two potential schools on the radar. I’ve spoken to one but open to others. Approval will need to happen fast since we … Read more...

Putting love first will help our communities recover

by Tom Bannard

I want to tell you a little bit about my father. My father is a quiet, consistent loving man, who has been teaching for the last 48 years and doesn’t show any signs of loving it any less. My father, more than any other person, led me to recovery.

A little more than ten years ago, I sat across from him at the kitchen table. Due to my addiction, I had just been arrested on felony charges, I was in serious personal danger, and I had dropped out of school. All this had transpired in less than … Read more...

CareTalk event was inspiring

McShin Foundation is starting an event called CareTalks and this one was the second one.  I was invited to speak along with several other great speakers. I talked about the blog. This one.

Tim Alexander took video so the recordings will be up in a couple of weeks. My voice still sounds hoarse from the brain radiation and by the evening it’s a little worse.

Looking at this picture, I’m a little afraid of what the video will look like!

Your stories are important. They are reaching people. People who are hurting and searching on Google find them. So please submit … Read more...

Is tough love the right thing to do?

Diane’s regret after her son’s death:

Joshua Giannini

by Diane Fielder-McCormick – My biggest regret during the seasons that my son Joshua was using drugs is when I acted in “tough love” ways. In the picture I posted today on Facebook of him on my front porch a year ago, I had kicked him out for stealing money from me. I took him to a homeless shelter/drug rehab place but he walked away. Before he even went in.

And he slept in the woods, literally, all winter. Looking back,  I’m thinking that some of our behaviors add to their shame, … Read more...

Your loved one with addiction loves you

Charles left behind all kinds of writing that indicated how much he loved us. What we often don’t realize when our loved ones are using is they do have moments of clarity. They love you. And not only that, they want to be loved and they do want to make us proud.

The thing is you may not know it.

I talk to scores of those in recovery and they’ll tell you that the weight of the guilt of not being who we want them to be is devastating. Whatever emotion is etched on our faces– whether it’s fear or our own … Read more...

Be emotionally naked. And wear it out!

Emotionally Naked T-Shirts. Unisex, Women’s shaped shirts, sweath shirts, long sleeved shirts. Gray, white, light blue. All sizes xxs-3XL

Check out the edgiest t-shirt with the coolest vibe ever! Made of homespun soft cotton sewn with love by cute little old ladies in Kansas. OK that last part might be a tad exaggerated except for the soft part. Richard, my oldest, chose the quote on the back. And he said he is going to wear it out in California where a cool vibe is More important than food and water.

Our village is growing. In fact, we’ve had over a … Read more...

Drugs delivered to your driveway like pizza

Where do kids get drugs?

You would be surprised at how easy it is to get drugs these days. Even if your child is not predisposed to using, taking a pill or using a substance to ‘relax,’ solve problems, achieve, feel better is the culture they are growing up in. Drugs you think are no big deal like alcohol and pot, lowers inhibitions and in today’s culture, it’s just too easy to make a mistake and suffer dire consequences.

The marijuana of today is far stronger than it was 20 years ago. And today when kids drink, they often do … Read more...

Care Talks Richmond VA

On Saturday, October 7, 2017, CareTalks will be coming to Richmond, VA. Similar in format to TedTalks, these will focus on innovative solutions to the opiate and addiction crisis we are now facing. I will be speaking as well as a distinguished panel of speakers who will talk about what their innovative solution. This is such a great idea and should inspire ideas and conversation. Each talk is only 11 minutes.

I have been asked to speak about this blog, how simply telling stories has impacted and saved lives. Nothing I had ever thought it would do when I first … Read more...

I am worth it

This is a video by my friend, Tim Alexander, about the opiate epidemic. It’s short and to the point. Worth watching. Dear governors, senators, congressmen, city counsel….

Tim works with the McShin Foundation to publish video and other media to raises awareness on the topic of addiction. He is also one of the tribe here and is an avid sharer.

Dear Heroin, I F-ing HATE you!
… Read more...

Judge less

As a result of what you’ve gone through, you are a better human being and/or a better parent. You are more humble, more compassionate, less judgmental and more apt to be selfless givers.

We are proud of our journey and what we have gone through and overcome. It has changed us forever. We are not ashamed of our loved ones who suffer from an addiction or mental illness or are afraid of what people will think of us because they do or did.

Acceptance. That’s such a good place to be even though we’d never choose how we got there. … Read more...

You can’t fix it. But you can make it worse

Watching your child or loved one self destruct with addiction is the hardest thing to watch. It’s like watching a person implode.

At first, we think we can fix it. We are sure we can. If we just want it enough, we can almost do it for them. We just need to know what to do. What directions to follow. Where to drop them off to be fixed. How much to pay.

But we can’t fix it.

We try, agonize, project, cry, pray, beg and lose ourselves in the process. We make their problem ours. After all, this is your … Read more...

JHW Foundation and Collegiate Recovery

by Roz Watkins, Founder, JHW Foundation 

JHW Foundation was founded in memory of John Henry Watkins who died from overdoes

From Anne Moss: JHW Foundation is located in Richmond, VA and I met Roz shortly after Charles died when she asked me to lunch. That’s the first time I heard about JHW foundation. So I thought I would share the impact this organization has had on collegiate recovery.

JHW Foundation funds collegiate recovery and initiatives to help prevent overdoses and other drug-related deaths, while working to help reduce the stigma surrounding substance use disorder and by improving access to treatment.… Read more...