WBZ Cares: "Learn to Cope" Support Group Meetings Help Families
BOSTON (CBS) - The WBZ Cares Campaign continues for the month of October.
Each month, WBZ NewsRadio 1030 highlights a worthy non-profit organization, and tells the story of what it does for the community.
For the month of October, WBZ profiles "Learn to Cope", a support organization based in Taunton offering education, resources and peer support for families coping with a loved one addicted to opiates or other drugs.
Every day, 78 people in the U.S. die from an opiate overdose - 29 from heroin alone. Each of the 25 chapters of "Learn to Cope" in Massachusetts holds a weekly group support meeting, where family members get together to share their addiction challenges, and hear from experienced facilitators.
At a weekly support meeting in Quincy, two attendees (their names are kept confidential) spoke about how "Learn to Cope," had helped them.
"It's just a great place to know that you can come and there are other people just like you, and you're not alone in this nightmare," one woman said.
And another woman described the first support meeting she went to.
"I raised my hand, and I said we just found out my brother's a heroin addict, and he almost lost his arm, and I just don't know what to do, I need help," she said.
"All these hands raised, to give me help, and give me guidance and support, and here, take my number, call me anytime, anytime you need help. It was just amazing."
"The meetings are a source of comfort for families," says Marielle Paul, Southeastern Regional Manager at "Learn to Cope."
"There's nothing like somebody else looking at you, and putting their hand on your shoulder as you're upset, to say I've been there, I've done it, and there's hope," Paul said.
"There's hope your loved one can get better, but there's always hope that families can recover as well, "And that you can go on to live normal lives after your lives have been affected by addiction."
If you'd like to know more about Learn to Cope, or wish to make a donation, go to their website at learn2cope.org.
