With a big ahhhhhh we ease into summer! What does summer mean to you? How do you plan to spend your summer? As we contemplate these things, others may find that summer is a source of stress or possibly worse.

Families in disadvantaged communities often struggle finding healthy supervised options for children, increasing the likelihood of substance abuse during summer months. With the current opioid epidemic, this is extremely dangerous and heartbreaking. But there is hope... and that hope is you.

We have been following many aspects of opioid addiction, otherwise known as the “disease of despair” and have taken action. Inner Explorer gifted one of our programs to a community in West Virginia, the state with the highest rate of death by overdose, and of babies born dependent on drugs, in the United States. Addiction can happen to anyone, even those who think “not me; not my kids/grandkids”, and it can devastate a whole community. Mindfulness has been proven to help those suffering with addiction.

A study done at the University of Utah proves that mindfulness can significantly decrease pain, functional impairment, opioid craving and opioid misuse (study to be published this summer).

It has become an overwhelming situation nationwide, so, how do we keep hope alive? We come together as a caring society! We help support those that can make an impact. Inner Explorer takes this situation seriously and we can all make a difference. Your donation today can help us provide mindfulness to classrooms nationwide. We can help those affected by opioids. According to Principal Hardman in West Virginia, “the school was qualitatively different; large numbers of kids were absolutely impacted by Inner Explorer’s mindfulness program. The vast majority of children had a much better year. Big fires were few and far between. We saw significant changes in classrooms throughout the school”.