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To ease the stigma of addiction, this mother sends letters to strangers who've lost children to overdoses

To ease the stigma of addiction, this mother sends letters to strangers who've lost children to overdoses
via @ResistMoveTRM / Twitter

The number of people dying from drug overdoses in the U.S. is staggering. In 2017, 70,237 people died from drug overdoses, 47,600 of those were from opioids.

According to the CDC, that number has increased over five times since 1999. Since 2011, an alarming number of opioid deaths have been caused by fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid.


via Centers for Disease Control

Each death leaves behind countless hurt friends and family members who can have trouble grieving given the stigma attached to drug addiction. People with substance abuse problems are called "junkies" and "thieves." Their parents and family can be labeled "enablers" and "coddlers."

Addiction is seen by many as a moral failing.

Whereas the recovery community and the medical profession sees it as a disease.

RELATED: In the heart of the opioid crisis, a compassionate approach to treatment is saving lives

Parents who have lost a child to drug addiction are often met with stone-cold silence from family and loved ones who don't know how to appropriately grieve the loss of someone who's died due to an overdose.

MaryBeth Moore Zocco, 54, lost her son Ryan Moore in December 2018 after a fatal heroin overdose. Ryan didn't know it was laced with fentanyl.

While her son was alive she always sent him care packages, like a warm blanket in the winter with a pouch of hot cocoa.

After his death, MaryBeth died to countnbue the tradition but this time she'd send some ove out to fellow parents of children who've died due to drug overdoses. She tells them about her son and tells them not to be ashamed of how they died, but rather, be proud of how they lived.

"I wanted to do something to help other moms and dads who lost their children to substance abuse disorder, to let them know they aren't alone," she told The Washington Post.

On each card, she sends them a short paragraph about her son's life — his career goals, talents, and hobbies. She also encourages parents to think about who they're children were as people, not as addicts.

"As a 25-year-old, Ryan loved life and all it had to offer," she writes. "Ryan loved music, playing drums, going to concerts especially with mosh pits," she writes.

RELATED: An Irish school is ditching homework for a month, assigning 'acts of kindness' instead

MAryBeth has sent over 700 cards to parents since she began the project in April. She found these parents through websites for grieving families and support groups.

In the right months since she started the project she has come across three mothers who've lost four children to overdoses.

"I don't know how they are still breathing," she said according to The Washington Post.

Jennifer Slater, a mother who lost her son due to an overdose was uplifted by MaryBeth's card.

"The card made me want to strive to end up on the other side of this," Slater said. "It gave me the desire to do something more."

MaryBeth calls her letter-writing campaign the FRoM Project, which is an acronym for Forever Ryan's Mom. She hopes to have the name trademarked and to keep mailing cards.

"I've never felt so sure of what I'm doing," she said.

Identity

Celebrate International Women's Day with these stunning photos of female leaders changing the world

The portraits, taken by acclaimed photographer Nigel Barker, are part of CARE's "She Leads the World" campaign.

Images provided by CARE

Kadiatu (left), Zainab (right)

True

Women are breaking down barriers every day. They are transforming the world into a more equitable place with every scientific discovery, athletic feat, social justice reform, artistic endeavor, leadership role, and community outreach project.

And while these breakthroughs are happening all the time, International Women’s Day (Mar 8) is when we can all take time to acknowledge the collective progress, and celebrate how “She Leads the World.

This year, CARE, a leading global humanitarian organization dedicated to empowering women and girls, is celebrating International Women’s Day through the power of portraiture. CARE partnered with high-profile photographer Nigel Barker, best known for his work on “America’s Next Top Model,” to capture breathtaking images of seven remarkable women who have prevailed over countless obstacles to become leaders within their communities.

“Mabinty, Isatu, Adama, and Kadiatu represent so many women around the world overcoming incredible obstacles to lead their communities,” said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA.

Barker’s bold portraits, as part of CARE’s “She Leads The World” campaign, not only elevate each woman’s story, but also shine a spotlight on how CARE programs helped them get to where they are today.

About the women:

Mabinty

international womens day, care.org

Mabinty is a businesswoman and a member of a CARE savings circle along with a group of other women. She buys and sells groundnuts, rice, and fuel. She and her husband have created such a successful enterprise that Mabinty volunteers her time as a teacher in the local school. She was the first woman to teach there, prompting a second woman to do so. Her fellow teachers and students look up to Mabinty as the leader and educator she is.

Kadiatu

international womens day, care.org

Kadiatu supports herself through a small business selling food. She also volunteers at a health clinic in the neighboring village where she is a nursing student. She tests for malaria, works with infants, and joins her fellow staff in dancing and singing with the women who visit the clinic. She aspires to become a full-time nurse so she can treat and cure people. Today, she leads by example and with ambition.

Isatu

international womens day, care.org

When Isatu was three months pregnant, her husband left her, seeking his fortune in the gold mines. Now Isatu makes her own way, buying and selling food to support her four children. It is a struggle, but Isatu is determined to be a part of her community and a provider for her kids. A single mother of four is nothing if not a leader.

Zainab

international womens day, care.org

Zainab is the Nurse in Charge at the Maternal Child Health Outpost in her community. She is the only nurse in the surrounding area, and so she is responsible for the pre-natal health of the community’s mothers-to-be and for the safe delivery of their babies. In a country with one of the world’s worst maternal death rates, Zainab has not lost a single mother. The community rallies around Zainab and the work she does. She describes the women who visit the clinic as sisters. That feeling is clearly mutual.

Adama

international womens day, care.org

Adama is something few women are - a kehkeh driver. A kehkeh is a three-wheeled motorcycle taxi, known elsewhere as a tuktuk. Working in the Kissy neighborhood of Freetown, Adama is the primary breadwinner for her family, including her son. She keeps her riders safe in other ways, too, by selling condoms. With HIV threatening to increase its spread, this is a vital service to the community.

Ya Yaebo

international womens day, care.org

“Ya” is a term of respect for older, accomplished women. Ya Yaebo has earned that title as head of her local farmers group. But there is much more than that. She started as a Village Savings and Loan Association member and began putting money into her business. There is the groundnut farm, her team buys and sells rice, and own their own oil processing machine. They even supply seeds to the Ministry of Agriculture. She has used her success to the benefit of people in need in her community and is a vocal advocate for educating girls, not having gone beyond grade seven herself.

On Monday, March 4, CARE will host an exhibition of photography in New York City featuring these portraits, kicking off the multi-day “She Leads the World Campaign.

Learn more, view the portraits, and join CARE’s International Women's Day "She Leads the World" celebration at CARE.org/sheleads.


Health

Over or under? Surprisingly, there actually is a 'correct' way to hang a toilet paper roll.

Let's settle this silly-but-surprisingly-heated debate once and for all.

Elya/Wikimedia Commons

Should you hang the toilet paper roll over or under?



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Humans have debated things large and small over the millennia, from the democracy to breastfeeding in public to how often people ought to wash their sheets.

But perhaps the most silly-yet-surprisingly-heated household debate is the one in which we argue over which way to hang the toilet paper roll.

The "over or under" question has plagued marriages and casual acquaintances alike for over 100 years, with both sides convinced they have the soundest reasoning for putting their toilet paper loose end out or loose end under. Some people feel so strongly about right vs. wrong TP hanging that they will even flip the roll over when they go to the bathroom in the homes of strangers.

Contrary to popular belief, it's not merely an inconsequential preference. There is actually a "correct" way to hang toilet paper, according to health experts as well as the man who invented the toilet paper roll in the first place.

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The Hamilton Spectator

RIP Sybil Marie Hicks

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I told a kid a riddle my dad told me when I was 7. His answer proves how far we've come.

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"A man and his son are driving in their car when they are hit by a tractor-trailer.

Photo via iStock.

(We were driving at the time, so of course this was the riddle he decided to tell.)

The father dies instantly.

The son is badly injured. Paramedics rush him to the hospital.

Photo via iStock.

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