When does it stop being a party and start becoming a problem? Is there a way to steer clear of addiction?
Every Wednesday, Mike McGowan explores substance use disorders with expert guests.
Episodes
Words From a Mother in Mourning
A little over two years ago, late in the evening, Phyllis Babrove got the phone call that all of us dread and none of us want. Her daughter Sara, who had struggled for most of her adult life with drugs, had died of an accidental overdose. Phyllis shares her daughter’s story and her work to try to help other families understand the problems of substance abuse. Phyllis is a Clinical Licensed Social Worker and the author of Words from a mother in mourning: How to protect your child from drugs. Phyllis’s book, blog, information about Sara’s life, and contact information can be found at https://herstarforevershines.wordpress.com. If you need help for your substance abuse issues, help is available. In Kenosha, contact the Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse; call 262-658-8166 or explore their website at https://www.hopecouncil.org. You can also find AA meetings here: https://mtg.area75.org/meetings.html?dist=7 and NA meetings here: https://sefa-na.org/meetings
Have One Beautiful Day, Then Another
Linda Van Tol discusses women’s substance use and recovery. Linda is the Medical Assistance Residential Substance Use Disorder Supervisor with ARC Community Services in Madison, Wisconsin. Using a Relational Model of Therapy that helps women with their substance abuse, life roles, cultural expectations, and socioeconomic needs, Linda and ARC provide a safe environment for women to heal and grow. ARC Community Services programs and Linda can be reached at https://arccommserv.com. Linda can be reached at [email protected].
If you need help for your substance abuse issues, help is available. In Kenosha, contact the Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse; call 262-658-8166 or explore their website at https://www.hopecouncil.org. You can also find AA meetings here: https://mtg.area75.org/meetings.html?dist=7 and NA meetings here: https://sefa-na.org/meetings
Think Outside the Cup
Many therapists, social workers, and even parents have to work around substance abusers’ denial that they are using drugs. One of the tools often used to help break through that denial is drug testing. Kimberly Henderson discusses her company’s sweat patch testing product and its effectiveness. Kimberly works in Business Development and Sales for PharmChem, Inc. With her background in child protection and education, Kimberly’s role at PharmChem allows her to combine her passion for people and their well-being with a heart for service and education. Kimberly can be reached at [email protected] and PharmChem, Inc., at https://www.pharmchek.com
You’re Not Supposed To Know What To Do
When someone close to us passes away, we grieve. Many times we experience that same sense of loss when someone we didn’t know, except through their public persona, passes away. Zoë Page talks about the grieving process and talks about how families who lose a child cope. Zoë works as a Child Life Specialist at Baystate Children’s Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts. We all experience many losses in our lifetime, from family members and friends to the substances used if we’re recovering. How we handle those losses is unique to each of us. If you have experienced the loss of a child, The Dougy Center in Portland, Oregon, https://www.dougy.org, has numerous resources for families.
If you or a loved one needs help due to substance abuse, it is available. To contact the Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse, call 262-658-8166, or explore their website at https://www.hopecouncil.org. You can also find AA meetings here: https://mtg.area75.org/meetings.html?dist=7 and NA meetings here: https://namilwaukee.org/meetings/
Maybe You Can Go Home Again
Zach spent a long time making poor decisions in Seattle, compounding problems that began at age thirteen with a doctor’s prescription for opiates. Homeless in Seattle and using the strongest street opiates he could find, hoping he wouldn’t wake up, he eventually ended up in recovery and alive. Zach updates his story telling us about his trip back to Seattle for the first time since he stopped using drugs and began recovery. Recovery is possible. If you or a loved one needs help, it is available. To contact the Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse, call 262-658-8166, or explore their website at https://www.hopecouncil.org. You can also find AA meetings here: https://mtg.area75.org/meetings.html?dist=7 and NA meetings here: https://namilwaukee.org/meetings/
No. You Don’t Drive Better Stoned
Veronica King finishes our discussion about people cited for Operating While Impaired. The push for decriminalization and legalization of marijuana has resulted in a significant increase in automobile accidents and fatalities involving cannabis. Countering the often-repeated myths about substances and breaking through the denial is just part of the task all substance abuse counselors have to overcome to help clients. Veronica does so as a Social Worker and Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor who instructs Group Dynamics classes at Gateway Technical College for those who have been convicted of Operating While Impaired (also known as Driving Under the Influence). Veronica holds a Master’s of Science degree from Chicago State University, is a Doctoral candidate, and is the President of the Kenosha NAACP. If you need help for your substance abuse issues, help is available. To contact the Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse, call 262-658-8166 or explore their website at https://www.hopecouncil.org. You can also find AA meetings here: https://mtg.area75.org/meetings.html?dist=7 and NA meetings here: https://sefa-na.org/meetings
Flashing Red Lights in the Rear View Mirror
Good fortune or bad luck? When someone is cited for Operating While Impaired, how they view the arrest depends on their perspective. Veronica King discusses facilitating the Group Dynamics class for first-time offenders. Veronica is a Social Worker and Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor who instructs Group Dynamics classes at Gateway Technical College for those who have been convicted of Operating While Impaired (also known as Driving Under the Influence). Veronica holds a Master’s of Science degree from Chicago State University, is a Doctoral candidate, and is the President of the Kenosha NAACP. If you need help for your substance abuse issues, help is available. To contact the Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse, call 262-658-8166, or explore their website at https://www.hopecouncil.org. You can also find AA meetings here: https://mtg.area75.org/meetings.html?dist=7 and NA meetings here: https://sefa-na.org/meetings
You Think They’d Do More
A returning panel of college women, Grace, Aiden, Viv, Jackie, and Haley, discuss navigating through their first two years of college with a mix of pandemic, alcohol, other drug use, and mental health issues, on top of the academic expectations. As mental health concerns and drug use have risen across the country with young people, getting help for those issues is more challenging, they believe, than it needs to be. Every college has a student health center and access to counseling, and if the assistance you receive is not adequate, please keep asking and looking. In Kenosha, if you or a loved one needs help, it is available. To contact the Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse, call 262-658-8166, or explore their website at https://www.hopecouncil.org. You can also find AA meetings here: https://mtg.area75.org/meetings.html?dist=7 and NA meetings here: https://sefa-na.org/meetings
Seven Days a Week to Make a Difference
Diane Yager, a teacher, hall of fame coach, and mentor in Seneca, Wisconsin, coordinates one of the longest-running school wellness programs in the country. By focusing on mental health and alcohol and other drug prevention, the goal is to empower the students in her small rural school district to make good decisions. By utilizing generations of students in leadership roles, Diane created an infrastructure that serves as a model for what schools can do to address serious mental health and substance use issues in a caring, supportive environment. As a teacher, coach, and mentor, Diane inspired her students to live their best lives and to help others along the way. If you or a loved one needs help, it is available. To contact the Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse, call 262-658-8166, or explore their website at https://www.hopecouncil.org. You can also find AA meetings here: https://mtg.area75.org/meetings.html?dist=7 and NA meetings here: https://sefa-na.org/meetings
Saving Lives
When the worst happens and a loved one is unconscious, not breathing, overdosed, and close to death, the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) team responds. Nick Eschmann discusses the role of EMS in the ongoing health crisis caused by substance abuse. Nick is the Division Chief of Emergency Medical Services for the Kenosha (Wisconsin) Fire Department. He is passionately committed to giving people one more chance at life. Emergency Medical Services in Kenosha can be contacted at https://www.kenosha.org/departments/fire-department/divisions/emergency-medical-services. If you need help with your substance misuse or that of a loved one, help is available. As Nick says, “No one needs to die from this disease.” To contact the Hope Council on Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse, call 262-658-8166, or explore their website at https://www.hopecouncil.org.
