A brochure promised safety. What Mandy’s family found after Cooper’s overdose was a six‑bedroom house at the end of a cul‑de‑sac—advertised as inpatient treatment, billing thousands per day, and operating with shocking gaps in oversight. We invited Mandy to tell the whole story: the love and laughter of a blended family, the day the phone rang with news no parent should hear, and the quiet, stubborn ways she learned to keep going without letting grief harden her.

Together we pull back the curtain on an industry too often protected by stigma and secrecy. Mandy shares how state investigators documented nine deficiencies around Cooper’s death—missed checks, loose access, confidentiality breaches—followed by a fine that would insult any parent. We talk about why predatory rehab models target private insurance, how families with fewer resources face even steeper odds, and what real accountability could look like: a national, public rating system for licensed addiction treatment providers, youth‑specific and trauma‑informed care, smaller caseloads, and approvals tied to evidence rather than billing codes. If you pay premiums or taxes, you have skin in this game—and power to demand better.

This conversation is also a guide for showing up. Mandy spells out what helped in the first six months, what to avoid saying, and why the simplest acts—printing photos, a “thinking of you” text, washing a sink of dishes—carry the most weight. She makes a case for vulnerability over image, for community as oxygen, and for choosing joy as a tribute, not a betrayal. If you’re a parent, partner, or friend searching for a way forward, or a policymaker deciding where standards begin, you’ll hear both urgency and hope here.

If this moved you, follow the show, share this episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review with one change you believe would make treatment safer. Your voice helps push real reform.

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