Drug abuse and addiction is a chronic, compulsive, relapsing disorder that almost always requires formal treatment.  Drug overdoses have become the leading cause of death of Americans under age 50.  In 2016, 62,000 Americans died from overdoses.  By comparison, the figure was 4,000 in 1999.

During this new episode of Family Comes First™, “Fighting Addiction (Part Two)”, we hear from Linda Ventura and Teri Kroll who both lost their son’s due to addiction.  Since then, they have both become fierce advocates against drugs.

First, we hear from Linda.  Linda lost her 21-year-old son, Thomas 5 years ago in 2012 due to substance abuse.  Since losing her son, Linda founded Thomas’ Hope Foundation in 2014 and also has a show, Resolutions for Recovery, which is dedicated to educating and empowering people and loved ones struggling with substance abuse.  Linda explains “Thomas, unfortunately, was told on more than one occasion, he’s not high enough for treatment; he needs to fail.  He always needed to fail at something before he could get the appropriate level of treatment.”  This spearheaded her mission of getting several laws passed relating to accessing treatment.

Next, we hear from Teri who lost her 23-year-old son, Timothy in 2005 to substance abuse.  Teri shares, “…if parents like myself and Linda, can speak up in a way that we can help that change to come about, then that’s what we have to do for our children.  So Timothy’s legacy and my “mom job” for Timothy is to advocate and you know what, I’m a good mom, so I’m a strong advocator…”  Linda and Teri both keep their sons alive by the good work they do for other families facing similar struggles.

You do not want to miss this inspirational show!  Tune in to Telecare on Tuesday, November 28, 2017 at 10:30 pm to watch this brand new episode. In case you miss it, each episode also airs on Wednesdays at 1:30 pm, Fridays at 1:30 pm and Mondays at 9:30 am.

We invite you to watch and be inspired! Family Comes First™ airs exclusively on Telecare TV – Cablevision channels 29 and 137; Verizon FiOS TV channel 296; or Charter Spectrum channels 162 and 471.