Despite chilly winds and dark overcast skies, thousands, including a Recovery fo Shore group from the Eastern Shore, attended the Unite to Face Addiction Rally in Washington DC on Sunday to send one message: change the dialogue about addiction and end the stigma.
Sponsored by the nascent grassroots organization, Facing Addiction (facingaddiction.org), an almost endless cast of musicians including Sheryl Crow, Steven Tyler and the Frey, addiction recovery and health policy professionals, including U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy and Michael Botticelli, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, along with politicians backing the recovery movement, performed and spoke with heartfelt intensity to the crowd.
Addiction is a national healthcare crisis affecting more than 80 million people. Every four minutes someone dies from alcohol and other drugs and accidental overdose is now the number 1 cause of death among young people today.
Washington Post writer Faiz Siddigue and his photographer captured some outstanding moments, along with a narrative that sums up the significance of this event.
“Kari Rhodes was on her way home from a birthday celebration with friends in Erie, Pa., when she received a frantic phone call from her 17-year-old son. The words on the other end of the line triggered a scream like nothing her husband, Nick, had ever heard.” Continue reading here.
For more information about facingaddiction.org. go here.
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