During the April 20 forum on drug awareness at Emmaus High School, a panel of parents shared their stories with an audience of over 100, many of whom are also struggling to cope with the impact of addiction.

Interspersed with presentations by medical, legal and counseling experts, the parents’ personal stories gave flesh and blood reality to addiction’s cost in human suffering. Periodically, audience members became emotional; some shared their own grief, frustrations and fears.

Tina Ralls, session moderator, lawyer and mother of a deceased addict, described parents of addicts as belonging to “the club no one wants to be a member of.” Backed by overhead projections of the drug-involved son or daughter, each parent related his or her child’s spiral into addiction.

Ralls’ son first experienced drugs as he self-medicated to cope with the death of his beloved father.

Jenny Kemps explained her hard-working son suffered a back injury which led to an opioid addiction and eventual overdose.

For Donna Jacobsen, whose daughter is a recovering addict leading a productive life, the worry still nags because, “This insidious disease can come knocking on our door when we least expect it.”

The parents provided insights into the realm of addiction that no statistic, chart or graph can capture.

Sharon Stauffer shared a statement made by her now deceased son Ryan. “I hate what I’m doing. I hate what I’m doing to my family. I hate what I’m doing to myself, but I can’t stop.”

The agonizing road traveled by the parents of addicts is laid bare in D.F.D. Wilkins’ poem, “I am the Mother of an Addict” which Jacobsen poignantly presented.

Although the stories had many similarities, the most compelling element of each was the uniqueness of the child.

As John Cramsey, whose daughter died of an overdose, said, “These are all our kids. Don’t think badly of any of them.”

Opioid addiction is rampant in the United States. Faced with the enormity of the problem, many ask, “What can be done?” The panel members, both experts and parents, agree everyone should become educated about addiction, strive to educate children about addiction and offer support and compassion to addicts and their families. Hopefully, through community commitment and communication, “the club no one wants to be a member of” will ultimately become a club with no members.