2021 Fellow Emily Neely on Aiding Communities Affected by Substance Use Disorder

2021 Equal Justice Works Fellow Emily Neely discusses her work providing mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution in West Virginia to low-income families impacted by the opioid epidemic. Emily is hosted by Legal Aid of West Virginia, and her work is made possible through the support of the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts.

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I really wish this service was available in Georgia. My daughter and her husband are in recovery and have 5 kids. He overdosed 3 years ago and survived. Both my daughter and her husband have 2 children each from previous marriages-with both exes currently in active addiction but because they plenty of money, my daughter and son in law are struggling to fight for custody while paying bills and focusing on recovery. All parties involved have had a lifetime of trauma and myself am 16 years into recovery trying to break the cycle.