Too many young people suffer from addiction to drugs and alcohol. Now, there are new efforts to help the teens of Hampton Roads, but some don’t think efforts are moving fast enough.
Virginia Beach School Board member Carolyn Weems lost her 21-year-old daughter to a heroin overdose 10 years ago.
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Problems started after the teen got prescribed OxyContin for an injury, then got addicted to drugs.
Weems said there aren’t enough resources for young people struggling with a substance abuse disorder. She has been fighting for years to get a recovery school for our area, which is a school specifically designed to help the needs of teens struggling with addiction.
Weems said the drug problems continue to escalate in the Hampton Roads region but there is little change when it comes to treatment.
There are about 45 recovery high schools across the country, according to the group Association of Recovery Schools.
“Recovery schools really provide a safe space where students can get a good education and get back on track and meet other young people who are committed to not using,” said Michael Durchslag, Chair of the Association of Recovery Schools.
News 3 previously interviewed leaders at one recovery school located outside of Boston.
“We really need to start looking at recovery high schools as a preventative tool a significant intervention,” said Durchslag.
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Virginia Beach School Board member wants to create Recovery High School
Virginia lawmakers this session are also taking action. Virginia House Bill 696 has been introduced, which would allow a school board in three regions — Tidewater, Northern Virginia, and the Southwest Virginia — establish a recovery high school that would enroll any high school student with a drug or alcohol problem.
The purpose is to give students dealing with those issues the academic, emotional, and social support they need to develop.
“In order to do that, you need to provide them with a new set of peers. School is the place where you socially interact,” said Durchslag.
The Virginia Beach School Board continues to discuss the issue. Money is the concern, but Weems said when addicts don’t get help and don’t recover, the long-term problems cost taxpayers a lot more.
“Loss of job, incarceration, out of jail, back in jail, relapse, the cost of that is astronomical to the taxpayer. So, I think we've got to get over this, 'it's just too expensive for a small group of people.' I think that's the first hurdle,” said Weems.
