Community Action

Today was the first Walking for Wellness: Stop Heroin Walk in Manchester, NH.  They say they will walk every other Saturday for as long as weather permits.  I have never been particularly vocal or activist about many things, but I did come of age during the Vietnam era so there was a little activism then.  This crisis that the world is experiencing with addiction and overdose deaths has hit as close to home as it possibly can and I find myself unable to ignore it.  So over the past year I've been getting more and more involved.  About 400 people showed up today, those who have lost a loved one, are struggling with a loved one in active addiction and those struggling or in recovery themselves.  There seemed to be a lot of support as we walked down the main street in the states' largest city.  The mayor came too - he seems to care and is trying to help by changing public thinking and instituting more treatment options in place of or along side incarceration.  It is nice to see it come out of the shadows, we have to be vocal.  We are losing a large portion of our youth to this disease.

Extra photos tell some of the story.  It can happen in any family, to any one, it is taking our cheerleaders, athletes, National Honor Society students.