By Jackie Whetzel, The Register-Herald
BECKLEY, W.Va. — The drug epidemic has taken a toll in West Virginia. The state leads the country in the rate of drug overdose deaths, and one in every five babies in West Virginia is born substance-exposed, according to the non-profit organization To The Moon and Back.
A secondary effect of the epidemic that doesn’t grab national headlines is the staggering number of grandparents raising their grandchildren when their own children are unable to do so – typically because of a drug addiction.
West Virginia ranks second in the country for percentage of grandparents raising grandchildren, according to Bonnie Dunn, extension specialist at West Virginia State University.
Mississippi is ranked first, and West Virginia is close behind, says Dunn.
“It’s not a respecter of person. It’s the rich and the in-between experiencing this,” she says. “It crosses all demographics. You have doctors, lawyers, dentists. You’ve got pastors. You’ve got a whole sundry of people.” …
