AuthoraCare Collective

Join us on Thursday, September 17 for the final webinar in our three-part diversity and inclusion series! This free event, "Diversity at the End of Life", will feature speakers Rev. Dr. James W. Fisher, Marisette Hasan, MARY MANLEY, and April Herring. It will be moderated by AuthoraCare's Risa Hanau. It is cosponsored by Alamance Chamber, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, Fox Rothschild LLP and Cone Health. Visit authoracare.org/knowing to register for this event or to view any of our previously aired webinars on demand!

Looking for a way to volunteer - and make a different in the lives of children and their families this holiday season? AuthoraCare Collective/Sam's Wish Fund provides Kids Path patients and families with Holiday Cheer. If you would like to volunteer, donate, or place a holiday donation tree at your business, contact us by Tuesday, Oct. 1! Items will be accepted from Oct. 1 through Dec. 13. For more details, contact Cindy Skinner at 336.532.0100 or Allison Nichols at 919.482.8601. #SWF #holidaycheer2024 #KidsPath #volunteer #yourstory #ourexpertcare

AuthoraCare Collective wishes you a fun and enjoyable #LaborDay! #yourstory #ourexpertcare

AuthoraCare Collective stands alongside @CEOAction's 2,500 organizations to honor the start of #HispanicHeritageMonth by paying tribute to Hispanic Americans. We celebrate their positive contributions to our communities, workplaces, and the #DEI space. #yourstory #ourexpertcare

Today is #InternationalOverdoseAwarenessDay and this year's theme is #TogetherWeCan end overdose. It is an opportunity to remember that behind every overdose is someone’s loved one or friend. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 1 million people in the United States have died from a drug overdose since 1999. In 2023, more than 4,000 people in North Carolina lost their lives to overdose, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. At @AuthoraCareCollective, we offer an Overdose Loss Support Group. For more details, contact Bereavement Counselor Kimberly Grove at 336.478.2565. #EndOverdose #IOAD2024 #overdoseloss #overdoselosssupportgroup #yourstory #ourexpertcare

Today is the Hungry Ghost Festival, also known as the Zhongyuan Festival in Taoism and Yulanpen Festival in Buddhism. On this day, descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors. At @authoracarecollective, we are reminded to take time to learn more about cultural festivals and traditions. We join CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion in encouraging inclusion in our workplace and communities. #HungryGhostFestival #yourstory #ourexpertcare

AuthoraCare Collective's Overdose Loss Support Group has given Ken and Diane Hollingsworth “a comforting, nonjudgmental, safe space to share their feelings.” “The group reassures you that you’re not crazy for what you feel,” Ken said. “You don’t feel alone in your grief.” Ken and Diane’s son, Eric, was 40 years old. His death was caused by a drug that had been laced with fentanyl. “Eric was a complex individual. He was a good athlete, easy to get along with, polite, musically inclined and quite intelligent, but he didn’t know what to do with all that talent,” Ken said. Whatever Eric did, Diane said, he put pressure on himself to do it with perfection. The couple started noticing changes in Eric during high school. “We just put it off as being a teenager and testing boundaries,” Ken said. Eric attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and aspired to become an architect. The substance abuse, Ken said, began with alcohol and later, heroin. Eric struggled with anxiety/depression and substance abuse for 20 years. “There were long stretches of time that we didn’t hear from him,” Diane said. “Then there were times that we were happy that he called – even if it was from jail – because we knew where he was and that he was safe.” Eric was homeless for a couple of years. “As a kid, there was so much hope and promise for him. And as a parent, it’s difficult to understand how life/circumstances can change so quickly,” Ken said. There would be stints of sobriety – one lasting as long as six years. During that time, he was asked to visit rehab centers to encourage others dealing with substance abuse that there was hope. Eric and his younger brother, Matt, shared the same birthday – Oct. 21 – but four years apart. “When they played sports, Matt was always No. 10 and Eric was No. 21. The numbers, 10-21, have always been our thing,” Diane said. “Matt looked up to Eric and they both made music electronically.” The second anniversary of Eric’s death is coming up in September and Diane admits that “it’s amazing how everything becomes a blur after you lose a child in such a tragic way.” Ken and Diane are still left with tons of questions about what happened the night their oldest son died. “You have good days and bad days. Sometimes going to the meetings is hard,” Diane said. “It’s hard seeing new people coming into the group because we know exactly how they are feeling at the time.” Being in the support group, Ken said, has given him the opportunity to “hear others’ stories and there are so many times that I have leaned back and thought, ‘yeah, I know exactly where you are coming from.’ That’s the beauty of this group.” #IOAD2024 #overdoseloss #overdoselosssuportgroup #yourstory #ourexpertcare

A blue rubber bracelet bears the name and birthdate of Amy Lamb’s only son, Thomas. On the other side is the quote, “Make good choices.” It’s something Amy would often text to Thomas. “One choice can change your life,” she said. “I knew and preached on the dangers of fentanyl, but it wasn’t enough to save my Thomas.” Amy refers to the day Thomas died, Sept. 14, 2022, at the age of 18 as “the day my life as I knew it stopped.” A student at Guilford Technical Community College, Thomas planned to transfer to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “Thomas loved sports and people. He was extremely close to his grandmother, my mother, who died six months prior to his death,” she said. AuthoraCare Collective's Overdose Loss Support Group has given Amy the opportunity to talk with others who really understand what she’s going through. “We are a family of sorrow, but we’re able to share a laugh and have a good time, too,” she said, smiling through tears. “We have laughed until our bellies hurt.” Thomas’ friends have kept his legacy alive by carrying his ashes to various locations throughout the United States and beyond. “This summer alone, he’s gone to the Grand Canyon, Jamaica, and St. Thomas,” Amy said. Amy, along with Thomas’ family and friends, attended the fourth annual “The Dead Still Speak” rally on July 14 in Washington, D.C., organized by The Lost Voices of Fentanyl. “He was my everything. But the support group, and the support of family and friends, has encouraged me to find purpose in all of this,” she said. A foundation, through the Sanctuary House, has been created in Thomas’ name. “We’re still trying to establish who the foundation will serve,” she said. There are challenging and sad days, but Amy is grateful to have found an extended family through the Overdose Loss Support Group. “I wish no mother would have to go through the pain of losing a child to overdose,” she said. “But it helps to talk about it with people who have walked the same journey.” #IOAD2024 #overdoseloss #overdoselosssupportgroup #yourstory #ourexpertcare

Following the death of her 39-year-old daughter, Laura, to substance abuse disorder, Bonnie Murdock Googled “support groups for overdose loss” and found AuthoraCare Collective's support group. Bonnie began attending the group six months after Laura’s death and has found support among others who have lost loved ones to the disorder. “It’s the one place you don’t feel condemnation or judgment for yourself or your child. Only people who have walked this path understand the heartache and pain that you feel,” Bonnie said. “It’s a safe space.” Laura’s giving heart was evident from a young age. “I remember when she was in fourth grade, she wanted to buy a bed for a little girl in her classroom,” she said. “That’s just the sweet soul that she was.” In 2008, Bonnie and Laura attended a church mission trip to Nairobi, Kenya, Africa. “We taught Bible School to kids there,” she said. “At one point during the trip, Laura said, ‘Give me your tennis shoes.’ She wanted to give them to a teenage boy. That was the heart she had. We left a lot of our clothes and shoes with families there.” Laura had a bout with alcohol abuse from the ages of 18 to 21. A student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Laura’s dream school, she majored in psychology and African studies. “She learned Swahili, and really wanted to be a counselor,” Bonnie said. “She had a heart for people.” While Laura was in college, she and Bonnie would visit the farmers market in Chapel Hill and go shopping. “She loved fashion and carried herself with confidence, even though she didn’t truly value herself,” Bonnie said. “She was beautiful inside and out – but she didn’t see it.” Substance abuse had a stronghold on Laura’s life that she couldn’t overcome. “She owned her decisions and mistakes. She always reminded me that her choices were hers and hers alone.” On the first birthday following Laura’s death, Bonnie visited a local bakery and anonymously purchased a birthday cake for a little girl. “I wanted to pay it forward,” she said. “I wish I could say that it gets easier as time goes on, but I miss her. When she died, a piece of me died. But a piece of her lives on in my grandson. I talk to him about what a beautiful, strong, smart woman his mother was.” For more details on AuthoraCare’s Overdose Loss Support Group, call Kimberly Grove at 336.478.2565. #IOAD2024 #overdoseloss #overdoselosssupportgroup #yourstory #ourexpertcare

Commemorative bricks and courtyard engravings honor loved ones on AuthoraCare Collective's Greensboro and Burlington campuses, respectively. Each fall, engraved bricks are installed in the walkways outside Beacon Place and Kids Path on AuthoraCare's Greensboro campus. Place your order by Monday, June 30, 2025, for installation in fall 2025. Order today at authoracare.org/brick Courtyard engravings, near the Hospice Home in Burlington, can be made throughout the year at https://lnkd.in/ggC_aA9V #commemorativebricks #courtyardengravings #tribute #yourstory #ourexpertcare