A Pain Like No Other

I became involved in the Goal Project because I know firsthand the devastating effects that addiction has on families and wanted to help others avoid the pain. In 2010 my youngest daughter, Beth, who had been struggling with an addiction to prescription pain meds that began with post-partum depression after the birth of her second child, died suddenly at the age of 38, after ingesting a toxic combination of drugs. Those drugs were all legal and were prescribed by a doctor all too freely. It has taken years for our family to heal from the trauma and huge sense of loss that this brought to our lives. Hopefully by sharing my story others will realize that addiction doesn’t discriminate according to economic or social status. Addiction not only stresses families and friends, but society as a whole.

Through this ministry we will reach out to educate members of our churches and communities how to first and foremost prevent addiction, recognize the signs of addiction and how to get treatment. The GOAL Project trainings help us talk more freely about all addictions. For too many years addiction has been an embarrassment, a well-kept secret in most families, and the addict was seen has having a weak character. I saw in my own church those that were struggling but were ashamed to ask for help or even prayer. It is important to get the message out to others that addiction is an illness that can be treated, not a character flaw, and that there is help. The more we talk about it, the less stigma will be associated with it, and that is what we hope to achieve.