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Recovery can be a long and difficult journey. Still, it’s one Chelsey Moore and Brandi Collins say they are thankful to be on.
“I still have a little bit of imposter syndrome. It’s like I have a life I don’t believe is mine,” Moore told WRAL.
The mothers met at UNC Horizons, a treatment program helping mothers recover from substance use disorder.
The duo will soon mark four years of sobriety – together.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been alive,” Collins expressed. “I woke up sad every day for my whole life, and I never understood why. Now, I don’t wake up sad. It’s a cool feeling.”
Both mothers told WRAL they first began using drugs as teens, and their addictions grew worse after having children at young ages.
“For an 18-year-old, it’s a lot,” Collins said. “Going through postpartum for the first time – I was a child.”
Nearly two decades later, Collins and Moore both have three children and work in two Chapel Hill treatment programs helping other parents like them.
“Finding recovery showed me what I want to do with my life and help other people find recovery or what that looks like for them,” Moore shared. “You don’t have to stay stuck in that addiction. It can be hard to see that when you’re in it.”
Collins agreed, adding that knowing where to ask for help is part of the problem for many moms who are struggling.
“I tell people all the time, I wish I would’ve gotten help 17 years ago when it started,” Collins added.
UNC Horizons is one of six treatment programs that currently make up the North Carolina Perinatal Substance Use Disorder Network (PSUD).
ECU Health’s Dr. David Ryan explained that the network’s goal is to connect clinicians statewide to improve access to care and reduce the risks of potentially deadly lapses in care.
The physician stated, “The problems with getting access to care for patients with substance use disorders who are pregnant: the stigma, unreliability of access to medications, mental health needs that go unaddressed, misinformation – all of these things are affecting patients in Asheville, Greenville, and everywhere in between.”
ECU Health’s IMPACT Clinic is currently the only perinatal addiction clinic north of 40 and east of 95. Ryan shared that clinicians there see patients across 29 counties.
Ryan, who serves as ECU’s division chief of addiction medicine, said he hopes to see the PSUD Network grow to include more facilities under a second-year grant by Aetna.
“Addiction care and obstetrics care have their unique needs,” Ryan explained. “When those two things aren’t necessarily done together, there are a lot of things that happen in each of these silos that can affect the other. It can lead to worse outcomes.”
State data points to a growing need for more treatment clinics and coordinated care.
The latest annual report by the state’s maternal mortality review committee found 1-in-4 pregnancy-related deaths were due to overdoses.
The same report also found mental health was a contributing factor in maternal deaths, and the majority of pregnancy-related overdoses involved opioids.
Statewide overdoses have dropped since the data for the report was collected pre-pandemic. However, Ryan shared that the overall decrease isn’t reflective of what’s happening specifically among the pregnant population.
“It’s a really big issue,” Ryan stated. “When I look at what our state needs, the first thing is that substance use disorders are medical diseases that can be treated.”
Ryan stated he hopes the network will help mothers have better access to specialized care aimed at addressing the unique challenges plaguing pregnant mothers with addiction.
He also shared that he hopes it will spark conversations among physicians and patients about the life-saving addiction medications available, like Suboxone.
“That ability to target that patient population at a time when not only they’re most vulnerable but also most susceptible to change, is going to make the most impact,” Ryan said.
Moore and Collins told WRAL there is also a need for more peer support specialists with lived experience working directly with patients in treatment clinics.
“There needs to be more awareness around what that process is going to look like for somebody who is pregnant or parenting, and has a substance use disorder,” Moore said. “The unknown is what makes it so terrifying for somebody who is pregnant and using substances to reach out for help.”
“Peer support specialists are so important. I know the professional side of addiction: the stats and the science, but I also know how it feels not to want to live anymore,” said Collins.
The UNC Horizons program is one of those that allows mothers to undergo treatment while still having their children. It’s an option that both women say was a game-changer in their own journeys.
“There are other programs that are just for women or just for men, but to have a pregnant woman – or a woman who has a 1-3 month old – go and keep her family together, then you’re not just healing that person with the substance disorder, you’re keeping that family together,” Moore explained.
Collins added, “The program I was lucky enough to go to with Chelsey saved three generations; My mom and my grandmother – it saved all our lives. I’m still engaged with my treatment program four years later.”
After graduating from the UNC Horizons program together, Moore and Collins have since traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for addiction resources and funding on Capitol Hill.
The two have also earned additional certifications and degrees to better help those following in their footsteps.
The friends got emotional when asked about one another, each stating how “proud” they were of the other.
“For the two people that were never going to make it, that were never going to be good moms, that were never going to have anything – I feel like I’m dreaming,” Collins said.
The mother continued, “It’s doable. It’s possible I used to think stuff like that wouldn’t happen for me, and I would never be given those resources or those chances, and nobody would believe in me. If I can make it out of the trenches, let me help pull you out of them.”
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