Within New River Valley, community members work hard everyday to address stigma by using their voices to initiate change. For instance, an undergraduate student named Lucia Fang ran for a position in the 2024 Virginia Tech homecoming court this fall. Her platform, entitled “Lifting Loved Ones with Lucia”, strove to break down the divisive stigma surrounding substance use disorder (SUD) that stands in the way of compassion and recovery.

Adolescence brings a shift from parents and other adults being the experts kids look to for information to their peers being the experts. A good deal of the messaging kids receive is from social media and it is a major influence we can't ignore. But if we lean into our relationships and have conversations where we are speaking honestly and listening without judgment, we will be able to reach our kids in a meaningful way.

Lavender serves as the board president of Hope in the Hills, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting recovery communities and helping to unite Appalachia in the face of an ongoing addiction crisis. Lavender explained the reason behind the need for the creation of the organization in Huntington, West Virginia in 2016. “We had 26 overdoses in 24 hours, so we got on the global map and became the spearhead for the opioid crisis and what was to come all over the country.”

Feeling connected and accepted is how we thrive as individuals in our families and communities. In conversations about substance use, connection is not just an added bonus—it is a necessity. These conversations can significantly impact an individual’s choices regarding substance use, their ability to support others and their willingness to seek help if they need it.

Roanoke local and lifelong musician, Amanda Bocchi, tells her story of battling opioid addiction and navigating motherhood. As a fierce recovery advocate, Amanda has honed her music to work through personal trauma, transforming her past into artwork that lends hope to the future.

Dr. Noelle Bissell of the New River Valley Department of Health often reminds us, “The opposite of addiction is connection.” This simple yet profound truth underscores the essence of recovery. While there are countless policies, programs, and initiatives designed to support those in recovery, the heart of recovery isn’t found in funding spreadsheets or memorandums of understanding. True recovery is found in the connections we build with others..

Substance use is different for everyone, and the “spectrum of use” model helps us understand the varying levels of benefit and harm and emphasizes the co-occurrence of polysubstance use.

“We have to connect and attach because otherwise we don’t survive” is a direct quote from Gabor Mate, a renowned expert on addiction, trauma, and childhood development. A lot of his work is centered around the relationship between trauma and substance use, as well as the role healing and connection play in someone’s recovery journey.

Even if you have heard about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) , you may not be aware of how they are common and occur in all communities and cultures. These traumatic events or situations experienced during childhood can have a far-reaching impact on an individual's mental and physical health…

In a recovery ecosystem, you may frequently hear some unusual jargon, lingo, and acronyms that could make these conversations less accessible. And some terms and misuses are associated with stigma. In any case, understanding the lingo can help us “speak the same language” and promote empathy within our community.

Medically-assisted treatment, or MAT, are medications that can be used in combination with behavioral therapy, or other forms of treatment, to treat Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines harm reduction as an evidence-based approach that saves lives by engaging with people who use drugs and equipping them with the tools and the information to facilitate positive change in their lives. Harm reduction reduces overdose and overdose-related death, decreases the risk of infection and disease, and improves the overall well-being of others.

Have you heard about the medication that reverses an overdose? Did you wonder if that was true? Have concerns about who should carry it and how to use it?