First Lady Melania Trump made a visit to an infant addiction recovery center in West Virginia on Tuesday. Mrs. Trump visited Lily's Place, the first facility in West Virginia for infants born addicted to opioids. On Twitter, she said the visit was "incredibly special" and that it was important to find ways to ensure that children are able to grow up healthy.
Today's visit to @LilysPlaceWV was incredibly special. Let us all find ways to help children grow into happy, healthy adults. pic.twitter.com/YUv7WJdPk4
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) October 10, 2017
Watch a short clip of Melania's visit below:
West Virginia has been among the hardest hit by the growing opioid epidemic. The Moutain State has the grim distinction of having the highest overdose death rate in the country. In parts of the state, half of all babies are born to women who have used drugs. Nationwide, a baby is born addicted to drugs about once every 20 minutes--although that data is from 2015, and the epidemic has only worsened since then. It is the sad reality that facilities like Lily's Place have become both needed and necessary to treat the youngest victims of the epidemic across the country.
The opiate epidemic has struck people of all social statuses all around the country, and it's something that needs to be talked about and dealt with. Good on the First Lady for drawing attention to something that isn't something that people want to go out of their way to talk about.