Grainger County Stories

Alisha

Opioid addiction is a battle far too many children and families face on a daily basis. It is an epidemic that threatens everyone. At some point, if it hasn’t already, opioid addition will touch your life. It doesn’t see race, age, sex or income. It doesn’t care if you are a mother, father, grandparent, doctor, factory worker or experiencing homelessness.

I am a Social Worker with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. There is not a week that goes by I don’t see or hear how this sickness has touched the life of a child. I cannot explain the pain I hear in a child’s story when they talk about their parent, grandparent, brother or sister who suffers from addiction. Children love. They don’t understand the reasons behind addiction or the battle being fought by their loved one. They simply love them and want them to be well. I also see the pain and shame behind the eyes of the parent struggling to stay clean. They fight their addiction every single day, and for far too many days, the addiction wins.

I was born drug-exposed and had two parents in addiction, one of whom lost his battle. We are fighting a war. I wake up every day, no matter how tired I am from the day before, ready to fight for and beside every child and family who is in this war. I fight for the child who wants to hug their parent goodnight. I fight for the parent who wants to fix their child dinner and help with homework but who can’t because they are so sick and have not found their way home.