Monday, November 12, 2018 8:44 am

We see it every day: parents ravished by addiction and children left lost, confused and unattended. In 2017, over 2.1 million children in the United States were in a home with a parent addicted to opioids. This crisis demands that the community not only care for the children but help parents escape from the powerful grip of addiction.

Stones River Recovery is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit drug and alcohol addiction treatment center in Woodbury, TN. Stones River Recovery's mission is to guide men from lives of addiction to productive members of families and society. Over 75% of clients at Stones River Recovery have children. Many of these children are left to reside with family, friends or foster homes while their fathers seek treatment. Many times, those in treatment have not seen their children for months and even years. As men progress through the program, Stones River Recovery helps them develop a parenting plan that focuses on maintaining a safe, loving family environment.

Almost 30% of the children whose fathers are in rehab also have mothers that require treatment. Working together with other treatment centers, Stones River Recovery provides an instrumental service in reshaping and rebuilding families. In 2018, Stones River Recovery graduated 26 men that were able to retake custody of the children they lost because of addiction.

With the opioid crisis on our doorstep, we must come together as a community and address the problems head on. Stones River Recovery stands together with other nonprofits, church groups and community organizations to fight this crisis and make our community a safer environment for children.