Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health is supporting the youngest victims of the opioid crisis in Lancaster County through Joining Forces for Children, the community coalition it launched nearly a year ago with funding from a federal grant.
“It’s estimated one out of five children lives in a home with someone who has a substance use disorder,” said Christine Glover, project coordinator.
“In collaboration with our partners, we are working to increase awareness of and access to services for children impacted by substance use disorder and to identify families in need before they are deeply in crisis,” said Glover.
The program involves educating youth-serving personnel and Handle With Care, a trauma-sensitive approach that allows police to notify schools when they respond to a situation where a child is present.
Handle With Care alerts school personnel to observe that student for signs of distress, be more understanding of poor behavior, and bring in counselors or other support if needed.
Melanie Avila is LG Health’s family advocate for Joining Forces for Children, another key component of the program. Fluent in English and Spanish, she works directly with children who’ve been impacted by substance use in their families.
“Addiction affects the entire family, but because of the stigma, it is not spoken of openly. I help families understand that addiction is a treatable disease and encourage children to talk about their feelings,” Avila said.
Avila helps connect families to support services and meets with each child directly to talk about addiction and offer coping tools—such as art, music or books—based on the child’s interests and living situation.
“The families are grateful to have help with difficult conversations and recognize the importance of talking about substance use to prevent children from continuing the cycle,” Avila said.
Joining Forces for Children is an extension of Lancaster County Joining Forces, LG Health’s collaborative program to reduce opioid deaths. Visit lancasterjoiningforces.org/families