No longer homeless, Jennifer Parker, seen here holding 2-year-old daughter Naudia, receives recovery services and support through the area’s Healthy MOMS program. Maria Kolcharno, at left, director of addiction services at The Wright Center for Community Health, and Vanessa Zurn, far right, a Healthy MOMS case manager at The Wright Center, are among the team members who assist more than 135 actively enrolled women and their children.
Submitted Photo
Lake Ariel woman talks about her new life
Jennifer Parker credits the Healthy MOMS program with helping her to achieve and maintain sobriety, allowing her to raise daughter Naudia. The Healthy MOMS program is a collaborative effort co-founded by The Wright Center for Community Health. It assists pregnant women and new moms in Northeast Pennsylvania who are coping with substance use disorders.
Submitted Photo
Homeless and pregnant, Jennifer Parker didn’t know in the summer of 2019 if she could take care of herself, much less a baby.
Then 35 years old and struggling with addiction, she had been using illegal substances including cocaine and heroin for about half of her life. The former Lake Ariel resident had a criminal record and little else to her name.
She began methadone treatment, attempting to finally control her disorder and to safeguard her unborn child’s health. But she didn’t have a vehicle or any way to consistently get to the clinic, so her treatment wasn’t succeeding.
An employee at the methadone clinic saw that Parker was having trouble and scheduled an appointment for her with a case manager at a relatively new program in Northeast Pennsylvania — the Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support program, known simply as Healthy MOMS.
Parker and the Healthy MOMS case manager met in a McDonald’s restaurant in Dunmore, and the case manager directly asked: “Do you want to keep this baby?” Parker, who at the time had no place to stay, no shoes on her feet and a single spare shirt that she carried in a shopping bag, answered, “yes.”
It was a one-word affirmation of life, and it inspired something in this mom-to-be that she badly needed: hope.
Parker’s situation began to change for the better almost immediately, thanks to her determination and the assistance of the Healthy MOMS program – a collaborative effort involving The Wright Center for Community Health, which co-founded the program, and dozens of partners in Lackawanna, Luzerne and six nearby counties. Multiple area hospitals and the nonprofit, Maternal and Family Health Services Inc., are among the many health care, social service and government agencies that power the program’s ongoing success.
“After I met with a case manager, it was life-changing,” says Parker, who was interviewed for this article in December 2021. “It sounds corny, but it was. I never expected to be where I’m at today and marking 17 months of sobriety. Everything is different.”
The Healthy MOMS program was launched locally in late 2018, aiming to help pregnant women and new mothers overcome addiction and embrace a life in recovery. Participants are offered blanket services that include medication-assisted treatment and addiction services, counseling, primary health care, OB-GYN care, parenting tips, legal advice and a range of other supports.
There have been more than 165 babies born into the program. It promotes the well-being of both mom and newborn, ideally engaging them in wrap-around services until the child turns 2 years old. The program’s duration is seen as key in reducing a mother’s likelihood of relapse.
“Since its launch three years ago in response to the opioid crisis, the Healthy MOMS program has become a widely recognized and respected resource for women who face the dual challenge of coping with a substance use disorder and juggling the complexities of raising a young child,” says Maria Kolcharno, The Wright Center’s director of addiction services and a key leader of the Healthy MOMS program.
Healthy MOMS has served mothers as young as 14, but most are in their late 20s and 30s. Named after a program of the same name in Ohio, Healthy MOMS was introduced in this region as a pilot program in two counties, with initial grant funding secured by the Lackawanna/ Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs. Today, it assists women in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.
For moms-to-be like Parker, participation in the Healthy MOMS program can be transforming, potentially improving the prospects of an entire family. “From the time I entered the program until I had my daughter, it was only three or four weeks,” says Parker. “But everything was different.”
The Healthy MOMS team quickly found a safe place for Parker to sleep, so she wasn’t on the street or staying overnight with strangers. She received clothes and shoes. She was linked to helpful community-based programs and services, especially taxi and ride-sharing services to get to all of her important appointments. And she and her unborn baby received proper health care.
Over time, Parker’s habits and even her appearance changed. When interviewed for this article, she was seeking to enroll her 2-year-old daughter in day care. Her goal: Pursue training in a cosmetology program and ultimately open her own salon. Similarly, other Healthy MOMS participants have reported developing a stronger sense of optimism and an increased self-confidence, with several expressing an interest in obtaining their GEDs and pursuing further education.
“The Healthy MOMS team nurtured me when I needed it,” explains Parker, “and then you start moving on your own.”
As of February 2022, more than 135 mothers were active in the regional Healthy MOMS program. Evidence suggests that mothers who join the program and participate in recovery services well before their delivery dates are less likely to give birth to babies who experience neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). NAS is a potentially painful and costly medical condition caused when a newborn withdraws from opioids or other drugs that the baby had been exposed to in the womb.
Pregnant women with substance use disorders and their babies are considered by public health officials as populations of special concern, due to their vulnerability. For that reason, the Healthy MOMS team strives to do a rapid intake of each new participant. Pregnant moms are supplied with necessary material goods (baby diapers and car seats, for example) as well as services such as transportation and housing. Plus, the team connects women to evidenced-based treatments, peer support groups and other resources to encourage long-term recovery.
The program’s ability to help women and their families has been fueled by generous grant support from private, state and federal entities, including the AllOne Foundation, Direct Relief, the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, and the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.
Parker first heard about the Healthy MOMS program from a police officer. She was being questioned over an alleged shoplifting incident in Dickson City when the officer learned Parker was pregnant. She never followed up on the officer’s suggestion to contact the program. A self-described “hot mess” in those days, Parker already had a history of run-ins with the law in multiple communities, including her native Colorado, and had become skeptical of authority.
While living out West, Parker had given birth to a son who, she says, was placed up for adoption while she was incarcerated. The episode seemingly took away her capacity to care about anything, including herself. She retreated into heavy substance misuse.
The Healthy MOMS program — and the arrival of Parker’s healthy baby girl in August 2019 — gradually restored her overall outlook and her conviction to sustain a life in recovery. “A lot of my relationships are better now,” she says. “My family members see the difference. They see that I want a better life.”
Members of the Healthy MOMS team can attest that the battle to overcome a substance use disorder can involve frequent setbacks, even tragedies and death. So personal milestones and successes are to be celebrated.
Parker’s personal journey has involved ugly episodes, yet, she says, “I’m not ashamed of my past.” Instead, she embraces and openly shares the details of her story, hoping it both encourages the public to understand addiction is a disease, not a moral weakness, and inspires other women to seek help.
She talks frankly about the day her water broke – while she was awaiting release from Lackawanna County Prison — and she arrived at the hospital’s birthing area in jailhouse garb. She relates how in the days immediately after giving birth, she refused to leave the hospital or even sleep, fearing that her newborn would be taken from her; she even dramatically bolted from a case manager’s car and walked along a highway to return to the hospital, intent on reuniting with her daughter.
Parker also addresses her early relapse. The Healthy MOMS team connected her with Gaudenzia Fountain Springs, an inpatient treatment center in Schuylkill County, where she and her daughter stayed for about three months. A team member visited her there frequently, delivering supplies and support, without making her feel guilty or embarrassed.
“The Healthy MOMS team is not going to judge you,” she says. “They’re going to do whatever they can to help you. But you’ve got to want it, too; they’re not going to do it for you.”
Parker’s turnaround over 24 months serves as a stunning example to the Healthy MOMS team of what can be achieved when a woman is receptive to help and supported not by a single organization, but rather by an entire caring community.
Not so long ago, Parker believed her disease had such a grip on her life that she couldn’t tend to her own basic needs. “Now,” she says, “I can’t imagine not being sober.”
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