Biography
Biography: Ingrid E Blair
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: The social stigma associated with opioid addiction is limiting the public engagement to drive government institutions to swiftly, fully and effectively address this epidemic. Embedded in the stigma is the belief of middle-class families that opioid addiction only happens to ‘bad kids’ with ‘bad parents’ which inherently limits their active participation in pushing for funding for public intervention. This presentation is a mother’s story of how the disease of addiction impacted her family and what we as individuals can do to break the stigma and take steps to change the trajectory of this epidemic. We called him our beautiful boy because he was that; strikingly handsome, charismatic, wicked smart with a dry sense of humor and appealing laugh. Our son, Hunter, died on December 4, 2016, at the age of 24 from a heroin overdose.