Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
LIFTING SPIRITS
Students give Christmas joy to patients in treatment for addiction
MALVERN » Students from Technical College High School, Pickering Campus presented patients struggling with addiction at The Malvern Institute with toys and Christmas ornaments on Dec. 19.
Kelly Cardieo, Itzel DeLeon, Maura Kern, Lizzie Payne, Erin Wilkins, Olivia Wolfrom and Kady Vigil are grade students at Technical College High School and members of HOSA – Future Health Professionals chapter selected opioid addiction as the social cause to help during the holidays with oversight from their instructor Donna Karkoska. The students held a toy and Christmas ornament drive in an effort give back to those in treatment for addiction during the holidays. The handmade ornaments were decorated by students for the Malvern Institute patients. Students gave out toys and ornaments for patients to keep or give as gifts to loved ones.
Recently declared a national emergency by the United States government, the opioid epidemic has had a devastating effect on American families and communities. According to data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, drug overdose deaths in Pennsylvania rose by 37 percent last year. In the Delaware Valley, 907 deaths were recorded in Philadelphia alone and overdose rates in the surrounding suburbs rose even faster.
“My fellow students and I see the impact of drug addiction on families and our communities, so we wanted to show people struggling with the disease of addiction that we understand and support them in their recovery efforts, said Maura Kern, a junior from Malvern and one of the group leaders.
“The patients at Malvern were so grateful for the gifts that they asked us the join them for dinner in their cafeteria, which meant the world to all of us. We just wanted to spread some cheer during the holidays, and I hope we succeeded.”
“The Malvern Institute is grateful for this effort, and our clients were moved by the kind gesture from the students at Technical College High School,” said David Lumpkin, executive director at the Malvern campus. “Malvern Institute is dedicated to helping those affected by the disease of addiction as the drug epidemic continues to wreak havoc on families and communities across the Delaware Valley, including Chester County as well as the United States. Support from the community is especially meaningful to inspire more people to seek a life in recovery, especially during the holidays, which can result in stress for families, said Lumpkin.
The Malvern Institute’s Malvern Campus on King Road is the Delaware Valley’s oldest private addiction treatment facility, with nearly 70 years of experience treating addiction through inpatient treatment.