Community and Familial Impacts of the Opioid Crisis Study Overview

Opioid overdose is a national public health crisis. People who are supporting a loved one with opioid addiction face incredible stigma and shame from others. Misunderstandings of what recovery “should” look like places judgment on those who are supporting a loved one. Stigma, shame, and judgment put caregivers at a greater risk for mental and physical health issues. We are also witnessing rapidly increasing rates of addiction-related suicide in recent years. When a person dies from addiction, the impact can be devastating to those who loved the person during their life. Because of the stigma of addiction, overdose death, and addiction-related suicide in our culture, those family and friends left behind often feel sadness, shame and guilt, which can lead to depression that prevents them from seeking help or support around their loss. Even in regions of the country where in-person support groups exist, few people know how to access them and even fewer can overcome the barriers of shame, guilt and depression to engage within a healing community. 

The Community and Familial Impacts of the Opioid Crisis study is a project established to address the needs of family members who are currently supporting a loved one with Opioid Use Disorder and/or have lost loved ones to addiction, overdose, and addiction-related suicide. This novel participatory, person-centered, humanistic, curriculum development project aims to provide support to supporting and grieving families by identifying needs, assessing the impact of mindfulness and self-compassion coping skills during bereavement, and considering the ways these skills may be made accessible through mobile technology as people process emotions around supporting or grieving the death of a loved one.

As data is collected during this program development pilot project, what is learned will be used to further develop mobile technology community resources by offering mindfulness and self-compassion content tailored for grieving loved ones in collaboration with community organizations already doing this bereavement work. An intervention connecting grieving individuals to a support network, in the context of instruction for specific coping practices that emphasize mindfulness and self-compassion, which have been shown to reduce depression and toxic shame, will help grieving families better cope in their journey towards healing.

Project Funding & Donations

The Community and Familial Impacts of the Opioid Crisis Study is made possible by generous donations from the Sandra & Arnold Gold Humanism Research Fund, The Russell Berrie Foundation, and from public support. Please find more information about our donor organizations below.

CMC would like to thank Dr. Sandra Gold for her continued support over the past three years to this project. Her passion, wisdom, and community partnerships have allowed the center to continue our research on the effects of opioid-related grief. 

If you or someone you know has been affected by opioid-related grief, please consider supporting our research efforts by using the donation portal below. Please specify that you would like your donation to go towards the Community and Familial Impacts of the Opioid Crisis Study. For further inquiries about our research, donations, or funding, please contact the lead research coordinator, Liz Gracey, at egracey@challiance.org. Thank you!

We are incredibly grateful for a considerable donation made in memory of Kenneth and Michael Adler. This sponsorship allows our team to continue research efforts to develop support for loved ones affected by opioid-related loss. We share our gratitude with the Adler family for facilitating our endeavors.