June 7

            Today we spent most of our day at the Open-Door soup kitchen. I talked to many people today and everyone spoke about their struggles with drug addiction. Multiple people spoke about their difficultly staying clean from heroin, cocaine and alcohol. I spoke to one person who was released from jail yesterday after being incarcerated for three months due to drugs. He spoke about his struggles obtaining a job, a place to live and a secure food source. He said “just twenty dollars is hard to come by around here”. The person spoke about his trauma growing up and explained the local area has a lot of problems with abuse and drugs. Waynesville has a high poverty rate and the public struggle with common everyday things that many people take for granted such as public transportation and healthcare services.

            The Open Door serves two meals a day Monday through Friday and one meal on the weekend. They average 60 to 100 people a day which helps a huge amount of people in the community. They are also starting to do NA and AA groups on one weekend a month. This will help the locals feel supported and cared for during their sobriety along with keeping addicts informed that the help is always available when they feel ready. Another resource the Open Door offers that I thought was awesome is their prescription assistance. The food pantry ensures no person has to go without their medications due to a financial issue. 

            The biggest healthcare connection in the community is Meridian healthcare. They offer outpatient behavior health services including groups, medication management, referrals and more. They also offer medical assessments. This is great because they work with the Open Door to help patients afford their prescriptions and provide gas cards to their doctors. These two organizations working together aids people to increase their medication compliance and stay healthier overall.