In 1993, Newport mother Dorrie Carolan founded Parent Connection to support parents whose children were battling addiction after her son died of a prescription drug overdose. In the decades that followed, her organization has faced a new enemy, one of the oldest recreational drugs: alcohol. From 2012 to 2022, the alcohol-related death rate in Connecticut has nearly tripled from 4.
5 to 12 per 100,000 people, a 166.67% increase, the highest percentage increase recorded among all U.S.
states, according to a study conducted by Lantana Recovery . “It’s totally different than it was 10 years ago,” Carolan said. “It’s more accepted.
It’s easy to say ‘my kids only drink’ as opposed to ‘my kids only do heroin a couple times a week.’ You go to tailgating parties, high school sports games, and the parents have their Yeti [cups] filled with alcohol. The younger generation then sees that, [they] drink a lot more than we did.
” While Carolan’s business used to primarily help parents whose children were dealing with heroin or prescription drug addictions, most parents coming through her doors now, she says, have children dealing with alcoholism. Before COVID-19, Dr. J.
Craig Allen treated mostly opioid-addicted patients at Hartford HealthCare’s Ridge Recovery Center where he serves as vice president of addiction services. Now, the “vast majority” of patients are coming in for alcohol-abuse, just like at Carolan’s center. “Everyone’s aware that alcohol can .