Thousands of people attended a rally last Saturday in Providence, Rhode Island in support of recovery drug and alcohol addicts. The eighth annual rally was part of celebrations to mark September as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery month.
Jim Gillen is a recovering addict and the lead organizer of the event. For Gillen, the day was an opportunity to celebrate another year of sobriety and health.
"It’s like our Mardi Gras or our New Year’s Eve, where we can feel that we’re not defeated by this illness," Gillen said.
Carrie Blake is a recovering addict and an advocate of substance abuse treatment. She wanted to attend the rally because she believed it was about trying to erase the social stigma of addiction.
"We need to show that it’s normal people that are struggling with this. The more that we put an accurate face on addiction and show that recovery is real and sustainable, the more it gives people going through it hope and helps others understand us better.
Nick Zeller is the project leader for the Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap Coalition in Providence. He said approximately 100,000 residents in Rhode Island suffer from addiction, but only one in eight people is getting the treatment they need.
"True health care reform must include robust benefits for substance abuse treatment. For too long, behavioral health has been separate from mainstream medicine," Zeller said.
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