Substance abuse often leads to impaired driving, and some women have seriously injured or killed others because of alcohol or drug use. The Sunday that is Mothers Day each year finds these women behind bars, visiting their children through plexiglass and using a telephone. On this day female correctional facilities around the country are filled with children of all ages anxious to visit with their mother. Many of these women never received substance abuse treatment, and most have spent a good portion of their lives addicted to one substance or another.
Many women who end up behind bars would have benefited greatly from early substance abuse treatment. An addiction to alcohol or drugs cause many individuals to go to prison every year, and a large percentage of these individuals are women who are wives, mothers, and even grandmothers. The substance abuse that led to the incarceration victimizes the children and grandchildren of the inmate as well as destroying the health and happiness of the individual in prison. Mothers Day is a day when mothers and children should be together. For many women in America this is not possible though because of substance abuse and addiction. The outcome in each case may have been different if substance abuse treatment had been provided before the inmate reached the current situation. The stigma that goes with admitting there is a problem needs to be eliminated and a bigger effort should be made to provide treatment to everyone who needs it.
