Monroeville Woman Launches Mobile Mission To Fight Opioid Crisis
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MONROEVILLE (KDKA) -- A woman from Monroeville has started a mobile mission to help fight the opioid crisis.
Amanda Cope's mobile clinic is saving lives by providing resources to the areas, and the people, that need them the most.
According to the DEA, the number of drug-related overdose deaths in Pennsylvania far exceeded the national average in 2017.
Cope is no stranger to addiction.
"I became a daily drinker by the time I was 16. I took my first drink at age 9. I ended up being 27 years old, drinking two-fifths of vodka a day to not be sick," Cope said.
After hitting rock bottom, Cope entered treatment, where the kindness of a nurse changed her life's course.
"That was the first time that somebody saw me for what I was and showed me compassion and empathy, and it was, I say to this day, the most profound moment of my life because in that moment I said that I'm going to be that for somebody one day," Cope said.
Cope has been sober for nearly 13 years, and she's now a registered nurse and the chief operating officer of Positive Recovery Solutions, an addiction recovery clinic she created with her cousins.
After learning some of her patients were driving hours just to get treatment, Cope hit the road to close the distance between addicts and treatment.
Positive Recovery Solutions combines a monthly injection that stops cravings for opioids and alcohol with counseling. They now have roughly 580 patients and have expanded to Ohio with plans in place to open in Kentucky, Indiana and Florida.
"We want to be kind of that hope for people who are in the same situation that we were," Cope said.