#MemberMonday Ashly Arnold

Ashly Arnold, a member at Kroger 753, is our #MemberMonday spotlight this week and wanted to share her story of overcoming addiction amid a pandemic and living life sober for 1 year and 2 months now. Ashly made the hard decision to do what was best for herself and her now 12 year old son to give him the life and mother he deserved. A clean and sober mother. She placed custody of her son in the hands of her father and entered into a rehab in house program for a month, followed by becoming a resident of the Woman’s Healing Place. She attends weekly AA meetings that were difficult to say the least during COVID restricted issues to have in person meetings. She is currently living in the Oxford House which is nationwide housing for recovering addicts. Ashly holds the position of Vice Chair and Check Signer with the Chapter 5 Division of the Oxford House of Louisville. She resides in a family friendly house but has determined that her son will remain in her dads custody for now. Ashly’s next goal is to get her own apartment which is the next step in her recovery to providing a stable home for her son.

Ashly hopes that sharing her story will possibly reach someone who is suffering from addiction to show that recovery is possible even during a global pandemic. She lives by the words Patience, Love and Tolerance which is the code of Alcoholics Anonymous.

With a rise in overdoses and alcohol abuse during the pandemic we implore anyone reading this that is suffering from addiction to reach out for help. We have included some CDC literature and resources to help you get started. You are not alone and help is at your fingertips.

Statistics on Addiction in America

Whether it’s a problem with alcohol, opioids, cocaine, or any other substance, addiction kills thousands of Americans every year and impacts millions of lives. Addiction is a mental disorder which compels someone to repeatedly use substances or engage in behaviors even though they have harmful consequences. Addictions destroy marriages, friendships, and careers and threaten a person’s basic health and safety.

  • Almost 21 million Americans have at least one addiction, yet only 10% of them receive treatment.

  • Drug overdose deaths have more than tripled since 1990.

  • From 1999 to 2017, more than 700,000 Americans died from overdosing on a drug.

  • In 2017, 34.2 million Americans committed DUI, 21.4 million under the influence of alcohol and 12.8 million under the influence of drugs.

  • About 20% of Americans who have depression or an anxiety disorder also have a substance use disorder.

  • More than 90% of people who have an addiction started to drink alcohol or use drugs before they were 18 years old.

  • Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 are most likely to use addictive drugs.

Member MondayEmily Browning