NORRISTOWN — A program designed to teach social and emotional learning skills for children in Montgomery County appears to be paying lasting dividends to build a strong foundation to set
Experts say support crucial for those with substance use disorders during pandemic
Published: January 18, 2021 6:13 PM EST
Updated: January 18, 2021 9:19 PM EST
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Experts say communities need more supportive programs to help people dealing with substance use disorders. During the pandemic, overdose deaths are rising.
We spoke to people in recovery and learned more about what makes people hesitant to get or receive help.
The saying goes, “words can never hurt you,” but after getting in trouble for a substance use disorder more than 35 years ago, Deb Lewis knows the pain words can cause. Lewis is a peer recovery coach with David Lawrence Center in Collier County.
MARION CALLAHAN Bucks County Courier Times, via AP
Michele Haddon/Bucks County Courier Times via AP
Maureen McGuire, left, and Megan Cohen, walk along Kensington Avenue, under the lights of the El tracks in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020.
PHILADELPHIA Under the weight of a soaked blanket, Megan Cohen inched her way, on foot, along a stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, the rain beating against her frail body.
She wasn’t looking to be saved.
“I was so broken. I was homeless at that point for quite a while and I wasn’t in the right state of mind at all,” said Cohen. “Tons of people drove right past me. I may have driven right past me.”
Strangers helped Megan Cohen find her way out of addiction. Now the Bucks County woman is reaching out to others in Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, where she wallowed in her addiction.
Under the weight of a soaked blanket, Megan Cohen inched her way, on foot, along a stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, the rain beating against her frail body.