2 Fathers Share Their Stories On The Impact Of Addiction

Ahead of Father’s Day, two dads are sharing their stories of heartbreak in hopes it brings better days for those dealing with addiction.

This comes as a national nonprofit resource expands to Oklahoma.

Reggie Whitten experienced the all-too-common consequences of substance use and addiction firsthand when he lost his son Brandon. 

He went on to lead the state’s 2019 legal battle against opioid makers.

He’s now partnering with another father equally committed to honoring his son’s memory.

“All of us parents who have had children who are addicted, or loved ones get addicted, we have seen firsthand and it’s devastating. It was devastating to Brandon, his entire family and we lost him after a three-year battle,” Whitten said. “We didn’t know what to do."

“Let’s gather information from providers, showing which evidence-based protocols they’re following,” Gary Mendell said.

After the loss of his son Brian in 2011, Mendell founded the nonprofit organization Shatterproof, dedicated to changing the country’s consciousness about substance abuse and addiction.

His organization is now partnering with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance abuse to utilize a new online treatment locator called ATLAS, a no-strings attached nonprofit program free of pay-to-play provider recommendations.

“With 13 simple questions that are all confidential and less than 10 minutes, someone looking for treatment can know do they need residential, or they do need outpatient and what additional services do they need too,” Mendell said. “Then you can find a treatment program that offers the medications they need and find a treatment program that offers mental health services.”

With the launch of this new life-saving resource in Oklahoma, Mendell and Whitten pray fewer dads will have to mark Father’s Day with a hole in their heart.

“My son lived with a stigma, with a shame,” Whitten said. “If he got cancer or any other disease, everybody would’ve embraced him and the family, it would’ve been a warm embrace of love and support. But because he got addicted, all of a sudden it was like a dirty thing, a bad thing and he lived with that until the day he died and that’s wrong.”

ATLAS is currently live in 10 states, now including Oklahoma. If you or a family member are struggling with substance abuse, you can find resources on the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse website.