Stacey Dimas says the Strengthening Families program, run by Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County, helped her to expand her emotional connection with her children. Photo credit: Ryan Young/Cornell University
When her opioid addiction was at its worst, Stacey Dimas was terrified her sons, 3 and 11, would find her dead from an overdose in the family bathroom. She wrote them each letters with life advice in case they had to carry on without her.
Dimas and her husband, who also used opioids, lost custody of their kids in 2015, after her mother and mother-in-law reported them to Child Protective Services for neglect. The boys went to live with her in-laws. Dimas and her husband were referred to Tompkins County Family Treatment Court.
Dimas and her family are among the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers whose lives have been ravaged by opioid abuse. The epidemic spurred Cornell researchers and parent educators to analyze the opioid crisis’ impact on families and assess the efficacy of solutions to treat parents who misuse opioids. Read about the Opioids and Family Life Project, and the impact it has had, in this story from the Cornell Chronicle.
