Children affected more by opioid epidemic
According to a report compiled by the Highmark Caring Place, A Center for Grieving Children, Adolescents and Their Families, one in 20 children under the age of 15 have experienced the loss of one or both parents and, on average, 60,000 children each year cope with the death of a sibling across the country.
The report was released in conjunction with Children’s Grief Awareness Day (CGAD), a day of observation created 10 years ago by the Highmark Caring Place. CGAD is now celebrated internationally and is observed annually on the third Thursday of November – this year on November 15.
The Caring Place offers services at no charge and insurance is not necessary.
Most recently, opioids have become a major contributor to the rate of death among parents and siblings, with the national rate of opioid-related deaths increasing by 13.3 percent since 2010. In Pennsylvania, the rate has increased from 5.1 per 100,000 people in 2010 to 18.5 in 2016.
This increase was reflected in the number of families reaching out to the Highmark Caring Place for services after an opioid-related death. Among the Caring Place’s four locations in Erie, Cranberry Township, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, 144 families received services for this type of loss in 2017, compared to only five in 2014.
“Opioids are having a devastating impact on children in our country and in our community. In Pennsylvania alone, more than 100,000 kids are being raised by their relatives or guardians as a result of an opioid-related death,” said Terese Vorsheck, director of the Highmark Caring Place. “At the Caring Place, we support children along their grief journeys through peer support sessions offered in a safe place with safe people.”
The Caring Place again observed CGAD this year with the Illuminating HOPE display, which appeared at locations across Western Pennsylvania throughout the fall, with the installation finding its final home at the Highmark building in the lobby at Penn Avenue Place.
The illuminated mural features thousands of handmade paper butterflies, each bearing the name of a lost loved one or a message of support for grieving children.
To learn more about Children’s Grief Awareness Day, visit www.childrensgriefawarenessday.org.