The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, in partnership with the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks, released Season 5 of the video podcast Awkward Conversations on September 24, 2025.
Episode 20
Parenting with Love Through Financial Stress
Jodie Sweetin and Amy McCarthy take on a topic many families are quietly navigating: economic instability and the impact financial stress can have on kids. Joined by Beverly Johnson, Director of Prevention Services at the Alabama Department of Mental Health, and Dr. Gary Kirkus, a board-certified pediatrician serving children in shelters and on the streets in Phoenix, the conversation explores what economic instability really looks like—housing insecurity, food access, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and the loss of extracurricular activities—and how these stressors shape a child’s mental health, sense of safety, and decision-making.
With 16% of U.S. children living in poverty and nearly four in ten in low-income households, this episode unpacks how children absorb adult stress, often imagining worst-case outcomes. The discussion connects financial strain to increased substance use risk through stress, trauma, and reduced support systems, while emphasizing that protective factors—love, connection, stability, and trusted adults—can make a measurable difference. The episode also highlights free and low-cost resources available to families, including dialing 211 for help with rent, food, and healthcare, as well as school-based supports, Medicaid-linked services, libraries, community organizations, and sliding-scale mental health care.