Helping the Helpers

Hi, I'm Beth Macy, a Virginia journalist. My 2018 book, "Dopesick," featured the story of Sister Beth Davies, a Catholic nun and counselor working in the coalfields of Virginia to bring evidence-based treatment to the addicted people of her region. Many of her patients were miners and loggers who were purposely targeted by a company that sold American doctors on the lie that OxyContin was virtually nonaddictive. For a quarter-century, Sister Beth has worked to counsel Purdue Pharma's stigmatized victims from her Addiction Education Center in Pennington Gap. The donor who funded Beth's counseling center died of cancer recently. "Oh, how I hate to ask," she e-mailed me. But she needs our help.

Her story has been beautifully portrayed by show creator Danny Strong in the final episodes of "Dopesick," our forthcoming eight-part series, which begins airing October 13 on Hulu.

Danny and I are raising money so Sister Beth can stop worrying about keeping her counseling center afloat, and to help her partner agency, the nearby Family Crisis Support Services in Norton, which provides shelter and other support services for many of the region's neediest.

While the owners of Purdue walk away unscathed—ultimately they'll be richer than they were before, thanks to a loophole allowing them to piggyback on their company's bankruptcy—Sister Beth epitomizes the best of what a servant-leader should be. Hers should be one of the most stable organizations in the entire recovery movement. But she is 88 years old, she still works too damn many hours, and she's in real danger of having her lights cut off while the Sacklers' light bill is paid for a thousand years in advance.

Please consider helping us help her. Best, Beth and Danny

[Photo by Josh Meltzer]