Overall Wellness and Social Connectedness in Southwest Virginia
Dear Friends,
Over the course of my 20+ years as a Human Service Professional, I have watched the substance abuse epidemic control and destroy my community in Rural Southwest Virginia. The destruction of substance misuse reaches far beyond what the media portrays and more times than not, the depiction of what is seen on TV is larger than one could possibly imagine. The media tends to portray the people of our beautiful mountains as uneducated and backwards. Don’t believe someone that writes another person’s story, because this is simply not true.
We are a proud and resilient group of people possessing a wide variety of talents, compassion and empathy. We are rich in culture and have the strongest sense of community that you could ever imagine. How powerful is that? Yes, even those suffering from addiction, as a whole, are good people facing real time nightmares.
Individual and community health care inadequacies is a dimension of poverty that ATD Fourth World has been involved with in this region for over 20 years. Partnering with the Health Wagon and joining the community support of the Remote Area Medical (RAM) Clinic have been ways to learn about these health inequities, their impacts on people’s daily lives, and the brilliant initiatives to improve the overall wellness of all people in the area.
The pharmaceutical industry, known around here as Big Pharma, tends to target poor areas of the country, which is what happened here in the mid-90’s with the mass marketing push of Oxycontin. Since that time, always in the interest of the mighty dollar, pharmaceutical companies have been allowed to cater to the cycle of addiction, pushing medications that promise short term treatments for addictions, but really creating lifelong customers, with no remorse for the broken families and communities targeted. It’s hard to live here, perhaps that’s why there is such a short life expectancy.
Throughout my career, I have always worked with populations facing higher risks and challenges, and realized early on that the common denominator is not only poverty, but the exploitation of our people. This is disheartening. I am often drawn towards prevention and advocacy. I enjoy cheering on “the under-dog”. Working with ATD Fourth World exposed me to a different side of health care that I had not previously seen. Behavioral health treatment programs are recognized and supported as a public health service, while the prevention programs, coalition building, and community service organizations with “boots on the ground” are more than often, not viewed as assets on a local level, yet their role in the public health ecosystem is critical.
It is crucial to continue identifying ways to improve the health outcomes of the Appalachian Region, build capacity and implement strategies that are evidence based to improve the overall wellness and social connectedness throughout our beautiful Appalachian mountains. Our people are worth it.
Sincerely,
Selena Culbertson
ATD Fourth World, Board of Directors Member
