The opioid crisis has indeed lived up to that name in our state, and the ripple effects will surely be felt for many years to come. As an Oct. 11 article in the BDN, “The troubling effects of the opioid crisis on Maine children,” pointed out, the epidemic and its consequences have been particularly hard on Maine children, with increases in cases of abuse and neglect, substance-exposed infants, unsafe sleep, and accidental exposure all linked to parental opioid addiction.
But headlines and articles like this only serve to reinforce stigma and blame on parents struggling with a substance use disorder. This stigma works to prevent pregnant mothers from seeking treatment, from effectively bonding with their babies once born and often leads to their concealing their addiction when they come into contact with child protective services.
The chart in the BDN article fails to point out that “drug-affected babies” refers to any substance exposed/affected babies, including those with treatment drugs like methadone and Buprenorphine in their systems. These babies are babies born to mothers who are seeking help and receiving prescription medication treatment during their pregnancy.
Perpetuating this shame and stigma fails to recognize and portray the real struggle these families face in raising their children, while also battling a substance disorder or attempting to recover from it.
There are significant barriers to accessing treatment for substance use disorder in our state. For many Mainers who live in rural areas, care and treatment facilities may be far from home and difficult to get to without adequate and reliable transportation. And for those without health insurance, the cost of the treatment and care alone often prevents them from seeking it.
While there are significant hurdles to seeking treatment and overcoming opioid addiction, there are programs and services that can help. We should be doing more to amplify these services in the press, to ensure parents especially are aware of, and able to connect to and receive those services.
We should look to highlight these treatment services — and include resources for parents struggling with substance use disorder — anytime we shine a light on the crisis. Home visiting programs like Maine Families, designed to identify problems early on in the home and connect parents to treatment, aren’t sufficiently funded. Even with Medicaid expansion, we still have a long way to go in ensuring everyone has access to the healthcare they need when they need it. Child Protective Services can work with families in a more extended capacity, to ensure parents whose children are at risk of removal with substance use as a factor, are getting and maintaining the drug treatment and counseling services they need to safely care for their children as they work to recover and regain a healthy lifestyle.
If we truly hope to overcome the opioid crisis — and to do more to help those struggling with other substance use disorders, including the most pervasive —alcohol addiction — we have to stop perpetuating the shame and stigma that has always been associated with addiction and instead work together to find ways to more meaningfully support the families caught in the center of the crisis, and living in its aftermath. Only then can we ensure children in Maine have the safe, nurturing and permanent family and home they need and deserve to thrive.
If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol and/or drug use, call or visit 211 to get help today.
Shawn Yardley is the CEO of Community Concepts in Lewiston and a member of the Maine Children’s Alliance board of directors.