BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — Right now more than 40% of adults know someone who has lost their life to an overdose.
A new study from the RAND Corporation sheds light on family and friends survivorship. It shows how common it is for a family's world to be flipped upside down by an overdose death.
Tim Webb from Blount County is one of those adults. Webb lost two people in his life due to an overdose.
"Addiction is not an individual event. It affects the entire family," Webb said.
Webb is a father to three kids: Brandon, Brooke and Cody Webb. His middle and only daughter, Brooke Ashley Webb, died from an overdose on May 23, 2018.
"She was very, very outgoing," he said.
Broke was diagnosed with a health condition as a teenager. Her illness led Brooke to receive prescribed medication from the doctor. Her painkillers later turned to morphine and heroin. She died from fentanyl poisoning, which was unknowingly mixed in with heroin she received.
"I said, 'Baby. I love you, too. I'll see you tomorrow.' Well, six years later, I'm still waiting for that tomorrow," Webb said.
That same year, Brooke had lost her mother from an overdose.
The death of his loved ones led Tim on a journey of disbelief, denial and healing.
"The hurt that every parent that's lost a child feels will subside, to a certain point. But the emptiness will last forever," Webb said.
Almost six years since Brooke's passing, Webb has found healing through words. He's shared a father's loss of his daughter through writing and several books.
"If you don't find an outlet to help with the grief, you're going to carry it the rest of your life," he said. "I went through the denial, I went through hatred and went through anger, it finally got to the point of acceptance."
At Metro Drug Coalition, programs like Family Support Services are helping families navigate a loved one's battle of addiction.
"The majority of family members suffer in silence," Webster Bailey, Director of Development at Metro Drug Coalition, said.
Webster said families arrive every week feeling helpless and seeking guidance.
"Usually their questions are, 'Why can't he just stop? I don't understand if he loved me, if he loved our kids, he would just stop drinking,'" Webster said.
He said a loved one's addiction can turn to feelings of mistrust, frustration and betrayal.
Metro's Drug Coalition's Family Support Service Program is free. They meet every Monday night for a family support group and lecture series from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Gateway at 530 West 5th Avenue in Knoxville.