Addiction Resources
As a member of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic, I have worked to fight addiction with evidence-based resources regarding prevention, treatment, and recovery. Below is information put together by our Task Force and community groups to help those in need.
Drug Collection Units In Our Area
There are now drug collection units at several local facilities. The service is free and anonymous and open Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The drug collection units are located at:
- Dulles South Public Safety Center, 25216 Loudoun County Parkway in Chantilly
- Eastern Loudoun Station, 46620 East Frederick Drive in Sterling
- University Station, 45299 Research Place, #100 in Ashburn.
- Winchester City Sheriff's Office, at 5 N. Kent Street in Winchester
- Winchester Police Department, 231 E. Piccadilly Street in Winchester
- Clarke County Drop Box, 100 North Church Street in Berryville
- Middleburg Police Department, 107 West Federal Street Unit 1A in Middleburg
*A collection unit will also be placed in Round Hill at the Western Loudoun Station in the near future.
Resources on Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery
PREVENTION
1. The Parent Toolkit Whether your child is toddling through preschool, meandering through middle school or cruising through his ’20s here are tips to help guide him toward a healthy life at every age!
2. Join a Community AntiDrug Coalition Community AntiDrug Coalitions of America (CADCA) is the leading substance abuse prevention organization, representing over 5,000 communitybased coalitions across the United States and in 22 countries who work to create safe, healthy, and drugfree communities. CADCA’s Membership Department is ready and able to connect you with our coalition network which reaches into every U.S. state and territory.
3. Free Online Course: "Medicine Safety: Drug Disposal and Storage"
4. 6 Parenting Practices 6 practices that will help you reduce the chances your child will develop a drug or alcohol problem.
5. Family Checkup Highlight parenting skills that are important in preventing the initiation and progression of drug use among youth.
6. National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month and Online Toolkit for Community Leaders CADCA’s online prescription drug abuse prevention toolkit introduces facts, strategies, and tools to prevent and reduce teen prescription drug abuse in your communities.
7. SAMHSA Parent Resources Underage Drinking Check out these resources to help you start—and keep up—the conversation about the dangers of drinking alcohol at a young age.
8. Teen engagement Resources to help teens live “Above the Influence” and learn the facts about drugs and alcohol.
9. The Medicine Abuse Project The Medicine Abuse Project website includes information about prevention of prescription drug abuse, painkiller addiction, and overthecounter (OTC) medicine abuse. It provides information about how to dispose of medicine and how to safeguard the medicine in your home, as well as lists medicine abuse facts and includes comprehensive information about the most abused prescription drugs.
CHILDREN PARENTAL SUBSTANCE USE
1. Find AlAnon AlAnon is a network of support groups for friends and families of problem drinkers. This link provides information on how to tell if someone’s problem drinking is affecting you and resources available for support.
2. Find Alateen Alateen is a fellowship of young AlAnon members, usually teenagers, whose lives have been affected by someone else's drinking. Alateen groups are sponsored by AlAnon members who help the group to stay on track. Alateens come together to share experiences, strength, and hope with each other, discuss difficulties learn effective ways to cope with problems, encourage one another, help each other understand the principles of the AlAnon program, learn how to use the Twelve Steps and Alateen's Twelve Traditions.
TREATMENT
1. Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator A confidential and anonymous source of information for persons seeking treatment facilities in the United States or U.S. Territories for substance abuse/addiction and/or mental health problems.
2. Find a Behavioral Health Provider A comprehensive list of behavioral health providers throughout the country.
3. Find an Addiction Psychiatrist The AAAP (American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry) Patient Referral Program (or Physician Locator) is a listing of AAAP Members by state for quick and easy navigation and referrals.
4. Finding Quality Addiction Treatment Whether you are seeking help for yourself or for a friend, family member or someone you know, this guide will point you toward the best quality treatment. Depending on where you live, your treatment options may be limited, but that doesn’t mean you should ever go without treatment.
7. National Institute of Drug Abuse: Treatment Drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by compulsive, or uncontrollable, drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences and changes in the brain, which can be long lasting. These changes in the brain can lead to the harmful behaviors seen in people who use drugs. Drug addiction is also a relapsing disease. Relapse is the return to drug use after an attempt to stop.
8. Patient Guide The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse’s stepbystep guide was created to help you navigate the vast amount of information—and misinformation—about finding addiction treatment and the questions that may arise along your journey.
10. SAMHSA’s National Helpline SAMHSA’s National Helpline (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service) is a confidential, free, 24houraday, 365dayayear, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental health and/or substance use disorders.
RECOVERY
1. Continuing Care A Parent’s Guide to Your Teen’s Recovery from Substance Abuse
2. Find Local A.A. Find local Alcoholics Anonymous programs and meetings.
3. Find Local N.A. Locate helplines and websites for local groups near you who can assist you in finding a meeting.
4. Faces And Voices of Recovery
7. Locate an Association of Recovery Schools Member School The map of schoolbased recovery support initiates from a broad market study conducted by The Stacie Mathewson Foundation on behalf of the Association of Recovery Schools. The goal is to paint a picture of the present landscape of schools that have a recovery support emphasis.
9. Recovery Residences Information about access to quality recovery residences through standards, support services, placement, education, research and advocacy.
10. Young People in Recovery Find a Chapter Find a Young People in Recovery chapter nearest to you with this map.
FACTS AND INFORMATION
1. Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction Provides scientific information about the disease of drug addiction, including the many harmful consequences of drug abuse and the basic approaches that have been developed to prevent and treat the disease.
2. A Focus on Heroin & Opioids: From Understanding to Action Information to understand the opioid epidemic and how to take action.
3. Drug Facts: Heroin Facts from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
4. Prescription Drugs and Cold Medicines Some medications have psychoactive (mindaltering) properties and, because of that, are sometimes abused—that is, taken for reasons or in ways or amounts not intended by a doctor, or taken by someone other than the person for whom they are prescribed. In fact, prescription and overthecounter (OTC) drugs are, after marijuana (and alcohol), the most commonly abused substances by Americans 14 and older.
5. Prescription Opioids and Heroin Facts on prescription opioids and heroin from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
6. That’s Right. Addiction is a Disease. Video presentation from the Partnership for DrugFree Kids.
7. Rx and OTC Drug Guide Teen medicine abuse is an epidemic one that is not poised to get better. But there are steps we can all take, starting with getting educated about the types of medicine that teens frequently abuse, you can take the first step in helping to end medicine abuse. Here, you can learn about the prescription and overthecounter drugs that teens are most commonly abusing, including what they look like, their street or slang names, how they're taken and what the potential side effects are.
8. The Teen Brain Scientists are beginning to learn that it takes a brain about 25 years to fully develop, and that a huge burst of development happens during adolescence. That burst can explain a lot of unpredictable – and sometimes risky – teen behavior.
Helplines
SAMHSA’s National Helpline
SAMHSA’s National Helpline (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service) is a confidential, free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental health and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and communitybased organizations. Callers can also order free publications and other information.
Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit the online treatment locators.
Partnership for DrugFree Kids Helpline
1-855-DRUGFREE is a tollfree, national helpline for parents whose children are abusing drugs or alcohol take effective action to support their loved one. The Helpline is staffed by trained and caring, bilingual, master’slevel parent support specialists. Their job is to talk confidentially with callers and share information to help.
Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America Technical Assistance Hotline
1-800-54CADCA, Ext. 240