Faith Church in Manitowoc was packed yesterday with people who are either recovering from drug abuse or want to help those on their path to recovery.
This was a part of the Mobilize Recovery Across America Tour and was put on by the Lighthouse Recovery Community Center.
While a lot of people think of drugs and automatically jump to the people manufacturing them and dealing hundreds of pounds of the stuff, the people that are really affected by the drug epidemic are your friends and neighbors.
State Representative Jesse James of Altoona Wisconsin who spoke at the symposium says there is a stigma surrounding recovery that needs to be broken.
“We have to de-stigmatize this content matter,” he said. “I find it really hard to believe it doesn’t affect some family in some way shape or form across our state.”
As for what can be done at the state level, Rep. James said “I think first and
Lighthouse Director Christma Rusch Speaking at the Mobilize Recovery Symposium
foremost we need to look at education. We need to look at prevention and harm reduction techniques that we can implement in our state. I believe [in] getting the education in our schools to get our youth educated on substance use disorders, what it looks like, where to go to get help, how to get help.”
While a lot of the time it feels as though Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on anything, Rep James said, “This should not be a political thing. This should be about how can we improve our Wisconsin citizens’ lives, and those who are impacted by substance abuse disorders.”
He also said that the number of people at the symposium made him feel good about where the topic is headed, but also concerned because it was a visual representation of how many people drugs have impacted.
