When Delia Williams was in Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan\u2019s office last fall, she found herself opening up in a way she never had before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI held a lot in for many years,\u201d Williams said during an interview at Haven House Tuesday. \u201cI used to be ashamed. I didn\u2019t want to be looked at as a junkie or an alcoholic or mentally incapable.\u201d<\/p>\n
But to Sullivan, she let her story out. Williams explained how she used to have a normal life before things went awry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat led me into deep drugs and alcohol was losing a child, and then going in a really deep depression for years after that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Williams sought treatment from various providers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd they all turned me down. I was like a hundred pounds. I looked like death,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Williams is one of eight Alaska women who spoke to Sullivan that day. Their visit to Washington, D.C. last year was combined with their participation in the UNITE to Face Addiction Rally.<\/p>\n
The women are the inspiration behind the Wellness Summit taking place in Palmer Thursday. Sullivan called the women \u201ccourageous\u201d in a \u201cMy Turn\u201d printed in the Empire on Monday.<\/p>\n
[My Turn: Help put Alaska on a path to recovery<\/a>]<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the most poignant and powerful meeting I\u2019ve had as a U.S. Senator. It opened up my eyes to the problem of addiction and what this scourge was doing to Alaskans all across the state,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAs the conversation drew to a close, there was not a dry eye in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n After talking to the group, Sullivan became a co-sponsor on the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (also known as CARA), which was passed and signed into law.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will provide much-needed resources to communities to fight the epidemic. It\u2019s a good step, but much more needs to be done on the local, state and federal levels,\u201d Sullivan wrote.<\/p>\n Hence, the Wellness Summit, which Sullivan wrote is \u201cdedicated to conquering the opioid and heroin epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n The summit is bringing together federal and state officials, state leaders in recovery and community members, including family members and those struggling with addiction. The goal is to \u201cproduce tangible solutions that the attending federal officials and I can take back to D.C.\u201d <\/p>\n \u2018Still on the frontline\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n More than 300 Alaskans are expected to be at the summit. While all eight Alaskan women were personally invited, only three of the six from Juneau are able to attend. They\u2019re excited to be recognized as such an integral part of the summit\u2019s conception.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s difficult to grasp on a larger scale because we\u2019re celebrating the success of this movement moving forward and at the same time, we\u2019re still on the frontline,\u201d Christina Love said at Haven House Tuesday.<\/p>\n Love is in long-term recovery. Working at AWARE and as a recovery coach, she spends a lot of her time fighting to get women into treatment. She\u2019s attending and planning to speak at the summit.<\/p>\n [Juneau ‘Sherpas’ help guide addicts into treatment, recovery<\/a>]<\/p>\n \u201cAs I\u2019m trying to write my speech, I\u2019m afraid I\u2019m going to have to use the Narcan in my purse. It\u2019s still very real and raw,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Love called the attention and participation in the summit surreal, especially in light in where the Juneau women have come from.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething that we have in common is that we were rejected by a lot of providers. When Delia was 100 pounds, when I was 80 pound, we knew in our hearts that we were sick. We looked emaciated and yet we were turned away,\u201d Love described. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to throw our demographic away.\u201d<\/p>\n She said this happened because of the stigma that was \u2014 and often still is \u2014 attached to addicts.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are still a lot of people that don\u2019t believe it\u2019s a disease. There are still a lot of people that believe it\u2019s a moral failing,\u201d Love said.<\/p>\n She hopes the summit will help shift that perspective. Sullivan also believes addiction should be addressed as a health concern.<\/p>\n \u2018We\u2019re not just side stories\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Kara Nelson, recovery coach and director of Haven House, arrived in Anchorage on Tuesday for the summit. Wednesday morning, she was on a three-person panel with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy before an audience of a couple hundred medical professionals.<\/p>\n The discussion was part of the Surgeon General\u2019s national tour, \u201cTurn the Tide Rx,\u201d where he talks about how doctors can help stop prescription opioid abuse. It was Nelson\u2019s first time actually talking to Murthy, although she recalled a near interaction.<\/p>\n \u201cI was 10 feet away from him at the rally in D.C. We locked eyeballs,\u201d she said, laughing.<\/p>\n Nelson is also scheduled to help kick off the Wellness Summit Thursday. She\u2019s pictured on the summit website<\/a> as a speaker alongside bigwigs like U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Dr. Mary Wakefield, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Congressman Don Young and Alaska\u2019s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jay Butler.<\/p>\n \u201cIsn\u2019t that insane? I can\u2019t wrap my mind around it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But Nelson has chosen to share her 20 minutes with the other women who were in Sullivan\u2019s office that day, the women who \u2014 as written on the agenda \u2014 inspired the summit. Nelson said the Juneau women who weren\u2019t able to make it to the summit are a big piece of the message she\u2019s trying to spread.<\/p>\n \u201cThose are women living at real time, right now. I think it\u2019s important to show a couple of things. First of all, our voices do matter and we can make a difference. Second, we do recover and it\u2019s not linear. This is long-term continuum of care and we\u2019re really showing the face and voice of that,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n She said it\u2019s time to stop allowing others to make decisions that affect their lives. She said staying silent does nothing except perpetuate the stigma. One\u2019s voice is an important tool.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not just side stories. We need to be in leadership roles, we need to be at every table making decisions, we need to be involved with creating policy that affect our families and loved ones,\u201d Nelson said.<\/p>\n The summit is allowing them to have that role, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing we have to do this together \u2014 the medical professionals, the community, those in long-term recovery, those with family members still in active addiction. All of us have to come together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Contact reporter Lisa Phu at 523-2246 or lisa.phu@juneauempire.com<\/p>\n Read related stories:<\/strong><\/p>\n Haven House is more than a home; it’s a way of life<\/a><\/p>\n Putting overdose prevention in the hands of the community<\/a><\/p>\n New addiction treatment program for Juneau<\/a><\/p>\n Read more news:<\/strong><\/p>\n Walmart pot garden mystery solved<\/a><\/p>\n Tour company owner talks on firing captain of sinking boat<\/a><\/p>\n