Part I: Peer support group offers services to kids affected by drug addiction
By Nikki Blankenship
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Two decades into the Scioto County drug epidemic, there is a place for the children of addiction. Directly Affected (DA) is a weekly, peer led support group for teens affected by the drug epidemic in Scioto County that came about after two local teens went to the recovery community asking for help.
Heather Timberlake, who works with Ascend Counseling and Recovery Services and is a part of the Recovery Coalition, explained that DA started under the guidance of Jocelyn Cooper, a student at Minford High School, and Kingston Littlefield, a student at East. The Recovery Coalition is a group with representatives from each of the agencies in the area that work with drug, alcohol and mental health services as well as those groups that lead outreach programs and some individuals from the recovery community. Timberlake explained that because the Recovery Coalitions is involved with so many agencies, Cooper felt they must be the place to help her, a 15-year-old who is the child of an addict.
“She had reached out to me last year wanting to know if there was any kind of kids program for children that had parents that were addicted, and I had nowhere to send her,” Timberlake explained. “There was nothing. The Counseling Center used to have a loved ones group, but that was mainly adults that went to that. It wasn’t for kids. The only thing I could refer her to was like mental health counseling, but there was nothing specifically for these kids. So, they’ve been kind of forgotten really.”
According to Timberlake, the emphasis within the recovery community has always been to focus on the adults battling addiction and on helping people get into treatment.
“There’s tons of treatment places all over Scioto County but nothing that services kids,” she stated.
About a month ago, Cooper and Littlefield teamed up and decided that if there was nothing for children like them, they wanted something and would do whatever they could to get something started.
“They both had this idea of doing a support group for kids that had been affected by a family member or by their parents, directly affected by the opioid epidemic,” Timberlake explained. “Both of them have had family that were in active addiction.”
Timberlake further explained that Cooper lives with her aunt because her mother is an addict and her father died of an overdose. With their families, Cooper and Littlefield started by consulting Kendra Cram, who teaches the social emotional learning program at Minford. They worked with her to develop the support group and then presented their idea to the Recovery Council.
“As I sat through that meeting, it was my second meeting of the day and I had worked all day and still hadn’t been home, but when I heard the kids talking, immediately I was like, “I’ll take it on. I’ll do it,” Timberlake commented.
As quickly, Kelsey Silvia, another member of the Recovery Council, jumped on board, ready to get the support group underway.
Timberlake explained that both she and Silvia are children of addicts, so they saw the importance of such a service.
“We know what it’s like as children to have to cope with this. And, we also know what it’s like to be an adult dealing with a parent that is in active addiction,” Timberlake said.
DA is designed exactly as the kids requested. Littlefield even created the group logo.
“We just went with what the kids said. They told us everything they wanted, and we’re rolling with it,” Timberlake stated.
Cooper and Littlefield stressed that they wanted a place that was just for teenagers, 7th grade and up, where teens could talk openly about what they are going through as well as what they’ve been through. They wanted to be able to share how they have coped with having a parent that is an addict, how they have dealt with the trauma that comes with that experience. And, they wanted a chance to connect with other teens who could relate to their childhood.
“I think a lot of them feel isolated, like nobody else is going through this, because there’s so much shame associated with it,” Timberlake commented. “For a child to be able to openly say, ‘My mom is using right now; I’ve seen her nearly dead,’ even to be able to verbalize that, it takes so much power out of that situation. And then, there’s one of their peers that can say, ‘Oh my God, I’m not alone. I’ve been through that too.’”
Timberlake explained that Cooper had once told her that when she has something going on at home, she doesn’t want to talk to her guidance counselor, or teacher, or any adult. She wants to be able to text a friend. Unfortunately, despite the vastness of the drug epidemic, these kids feel like their friends are not experiencing the same situations.
“I don’t know why, as much as we know about the opioid epidemic, as much as we know about recovery, as much as everywhere you go in Scioto County there is another recovery place popping up, I don’t know why there’s still so much shame and embarrassment about this disease,” Timberlake commented. “It blows my mind that we are still not at a place where children can openly say, ‘My mom’s an addict, or my dad has severe mental health problems, and I’m having a hard time.’ We’re putting all this worry and responsibility on a child whose brain is not even fully developed and doesn’t even have the capacity to cope with this. This is way overdue.”
Cooper and Littlefield will be co-chairing each meeting and will begin by explaining that adults will be stepping out of the room and that everything discussed during the meeting will be confidential. However, they will also make it clear that there are adults available if a child feels that they are in an unsafe condition and need additional resources.
Timberlake expects there to be a lot of talk of trauma and neglect. With adults in the room, these kids may feel that they can not talk freely or police or children's services will be called.
“We’re trying to find a balance of staying out of that meeting so that these kids can talk about what they’re going through without an adult interfering but also be available and build trust with them,” Timberlake said. “What we’d like to see is if a kid is in a position in their home where they might need to be removed, that they will have the trust in us to come to us on their own and ask to talk privately.”
She added that adults will also be available to offer other resources such as case management and mental health needs, in a child feels they need such services. This aids in the mission of “chasing the dream of ending the cycle of generation drug abuse through healing, education and support in order for these teens to develop an emotionally healthy life.”
Each DA meeting will be focused on a specific topic or speakers. Speakers will also be children. Meetings will be held weekly from 6 to 7 p.m. on Mondays at Sunshine Church of Christ in Minford. The first meeting will be on January 6. Timberlake explained that they are also currently looking for a location to house meetings in Portsmouth. Snacks will be provided at every meeting. To donate snacks, email laurakslusher@gmail.com, soniabanks73@yahoo.com or kcram@minfordfalcons.net.
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