Generation Opioids at West Virginia University

Generation O

Stories of Struggle, Love, Loss and Resilience

Crossing the so-called “rural/urban divide,” West Virginia University and George Washington University journalism students collaborated to produce in-depth, revelatory reporting about the opioid epidemic's impact on children in West Virginia. Students traveled to some of the most affected regions of the state, spending time with doctors, social workers, caregivers and, most importantly, the children left behind.

Struggles from the Start, Hope in the End

The youngest victims of West Virginia's opioid epidemic are born with a condition called neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS. Healthcare workers in the state are trying to reduce the high number of babies with NAS by helping moms with substance use disorder.

System Overload

When Tina Williams was hired as a licensed social worker for the state’s Child Protective Services in 2001, she was juggling a caseload of about 20 displaced children. By 2008, her caseload soared into the 50s.

Rebuilding Families

Twenty-five years ago, Michelle Peters became a mother for the first time. Now, Peters has become a full time caregiver all over again, among thousands of grandparents in West Virginia who have stepped in to raise children orphaned or abandoned by parents who struggle with addiction.

Life Recovered

Kelli Robinson was in the North Central Regional Jail in 2016. This is where her sobriety and rehabilitation began.