The opioid aftermath: Support offered to caregivers
Uhrichsville First United Methodist Church will host a support group for grandparents raising their grandchildren as a result of the drug problem.
Uhrichsville First United Methodist Church is reaching out to a forgotten victim of the continuing opioid epidemic. The church will host a support group for grandparents raising their grandchildren as a result of the drug problem.
The first meeting will take place Monday, July 30 at 7 p.m. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP by calling the church at 740-922-3881.
The idea for the group came after Pastor Shaun Green visited the annual East Ohio Church Conference and heard about other churches reaching out to those who have become primary caregivers for children because of parents’ struggles with drugs.
“I’ve read about several other churches doing something similar,” Green said. “And with Ohio being the number-one state for opioid overdoses, I figured there would be a very solid market for this type of support.”
Green admitted he’s not sure how many people will show up for the meeting, and he hasn’t received any RSVPs yet. “We have no idea about how many to expect,” he said. “It could be one; it could be 500.”
Green isn’t sure if the group will have a permanent place in the area. The plan is to try the group for six to eight weeks and see if there is enough attendance to justify keeping it going.
“Even if we don’t get the promised result,” Green said, “I still think it’s the right thing to do to at least reach out to those who have been impacted.”
There is no set format for the group. Green will attend with one or two other members of the church. He plans to ask a few open-ended questions, read some scriptures and just listen to the people who attend.
The biggest goal is to bring together different people who are in the same situation so they can help each other process things. Green said this problem cuts across social, economic and political lines, so it may bring together people who wouldn’t normally associate with each other.
According to the church website, “Here you will find a listening ear, a community that will lift you up in prayer and perhaps others who share your struggles.”
Green has been with the church for about a year and is finally getting settled in. This is his first time organizing a new group, but he said even if it is not a success, it is still something worth pursuing.
“It’s better to fail trying to do something than to be successful doing nothing at all,” Green said.
A PBS NewsHour article stated 2.7 million grandparents are raising grandchildren in the United States. The Columbus Dispatch put the number in Ohio at 100,000 and said the number of children placed with relatives instead of foster care has risen 116 percent since 2010.
Several organizations provide assistance for those involved with kinship care including the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, Ohio Family Care Association and the Ohio Grandparent/Kinship Coalition. The website at www.Grandfamilies.org provides legal, financial and educational resources for caregivers.
Job and Family Services provides temporary assistance for kinship care, but Ohio does not provide permanent financial assistance to caregiver families as it would to foster families.
Similar meetings can be found by searching for Nar-Anon in your area. The group is a companion to Narcotics Anonymous for those close to someone struggling with drug addiction. They can be found online at www.nar-anon.org/.
The church hosts weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in its community building. The building also is home to weekly yoga, Zumba and Head Start classes.
Pastor Green can be called at 740-922-3881. The church office is open from 8 a.m. to noon.
Uhrichsville First United Methodist Church is located at 225 N. Dawson St. in Uhrichsville. They can be found online at www.uhrichsvilleumc.org/ or on Facebook.