In 2015, Side Effects’ first year, one public health issue has surfaced over and over again - America’s opioid addiction crisis. From users in rural Indiana finding out they’re HIV positive to babies born into withdrawal in West Virginia to the life-saving drug naloxone climbing in price, we’ve seen a lot of sad stories this year. But we’ve also seen signs of hope. As the year winds down we’re going to focus on recovery. And with so many Americans affected by this issue, we’re reaching out to our readers.
Read our first submission: Gaining Coping Skills, Losing A Friend Helped Jennifer Overcome Heroin.
We’re especially interested in the resources that helped you or your loved one on the recovery journey- and the obstacles--financial, institutional or personal that held you back. Who were the individuals -doctors, family members, counselors -, and what were the treatments -medications or therapies- that made a difference? Healthcare providers and counselors are also invited to participate.
With your permission, we’ll share these stories on our website, on social media and in our newsletter. We hope also to use some of these stories as a basis for further reporting.
Please send stories to sideeffects@wfyi.org. Include “recovery story” in the subject line. Let us know if you’d like us to use your full name, or just your first name. Please forward this link to anyone you think may be interested.
Thanks so much,
The Side Effects Team
