David Lawrence Center Receives Grant to Provide Specialized Addiction Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum Women

Collier County’s only comprehensive, not-for-profit mental health and addiction recovery treatment center serving children, adults and families, will host the 6th Annual Sound Minds™ Mental Health Symposiumon March 23, Women’s Foundation of Collier County (WFCC) has awarded a grant to David Lawrence Center to expand the not-for-profit’s addiction recovery program by offering additional specialized treatment for pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorders.

WFCC is a fund at the Community Foundation of Collier County that provides grants to address unmet economic, educational, safety, and health-related needs of at-risk women and girls in the region.

The funding is designed, in part, to respond to the growing opioid crisis, which is now the deadliest drug epidemic in American history, resulting in more than 70,000 deaths last year.

Opioid addiction has had a devastating effect on families. There are an increasing number of infants born to drug-addicted mothers, and the number of children who reside in homes with parents addicted to prescription pain medications and heroin is also growing.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, every 25 minutes in America, a baby is born suffering from opioid withdrawal, which can mean lower birthweights, respiratory conditions, feeding difficulties, seizures, and longer hospital stays.

Children dealing with traumatic experiences, such as a family member with addiction, can face social, emotional, physical, and mental health challenges that last into adulthood. Left unaddressed, this can lead to school failure, risky behaviors like alcohol and drug use, and an increased chance of health conditions like obesity and heart disease.

The grant will help fund comprehensive services that engage at-risk pregnant and/or postpartum women with a substance use disorder into short-term, residential treatment, and/or intensive outpatient group therapy in the DLC Crossroads Addiction Recovery Program. It will also help with medication, along with obstetric and gynecologic medical expenses.

Eligible women receive expedited admission into Detox and/or Residential treatment. A designated case manager coordinates treatment, links to additional supports in the community, and provides the new mother with continuing care for up to one year postpartum.

DLC’s integrated recovery method utilizes a holistic, bio-psychosocial approach that combines evidenced-based practices and state-of-the-art medical supervision, while teaching new skills and activities that the individual and family can incorporate into their daily lives after discharge.

David Lawrence Center is Collier County’s only comprehensive, not-for-profit mental health and addiction recovery treatment center serving children, adults and families.

To make a donation or learn more about the DLC Crossroads Addiction Recovery program, call 239-354-1428 or visit CrossroadsNaples.org.