WPIAL athetes, coaches, ADs learn about opioids
treatment,” Tina Flowers said, emphasizing that addiction is a disease. “We thought we could keep Spenser safe in our home. We could not. I don’t believe anybody can keep people struggling with addiction safe in their homes. And every time someone uses one of these very dangerous drugs, they’re putting their life on the line.”
In 2017, more than 72,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses, with 737 deaths in Allegheny County, according to OverdoseFreePA. Robert Jones, head of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office and an Avella graduate, said Wednesday “[he] cannot arrest us out of this problem,” calling for help from students to set a positive example.
Talking to young people in the community and raising awareness is one of the first steps to curb the opioid epidemic, Flowers said.
“When you find out someone’s addicted, you want to whisper about it,” Tina Flowers said. “And as parents, we want to protect our kids. You want to protect their reputation, and you want them to be able to get into college and get a job one day, and not have a criminal record. And what I’ve learned, since Spenser died, is that doesn’t help. In fact, it makes it worse. Once you bring it out into the light, we can do something about it, and we can help.”
There’s several ways in which people can start down unhealthy paths. For Stevens, it happened when he tried cocaine on a whim when he was 28. Not long after, his face was smashed into the ice in a playoff game against the New York Islanders in 1993, after which he became addicted to prescription painkillers. He got sober around age 50.
Becoming addicted to prescribed medication is a common issue, and it doesn’t discriminate.
“There’s a disconnect between parents, schools, sometimes with parents and families who don’t want to accept that this is an epidemic, and it can impact them,” Benjamin-Miller said.
There’s also anxiety and depression, and different traumas people deal with, which the world of social media can exacerbate. Benjamin-Miller cited a verse from “Come Back to Earth,” a song by Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller, who died Sept. 7 of an apparent drug overdose: “I just need a way out of my head, I’ll do anything for a way out, of my head.”
If nothing else, she hopes to end the stigma behind addiction, so people are more likely to seek help and support.