- Alcohol
- Friends & Family
Submitted by: Susanne Johnson
I found out about Heroes in Recovery and the 6K runs only a week ago. I saw posters at places I frequent and looked up the website. Once I saw the site, I wondered how I could help and soon signed up as a volunteer to assist on the day of the race.
I work in the field of addiction and mental health for a big pharmaceutical company that provides medication-assisted recovery solutions, but I’m fairly new in this industry and had not heard about this grassroots movement yet. I’ve been working in the pharmaceutical industry over 15 years, but this is my first time to work with addiction recovery treatments. It feels so good to be in this field; it is amazing.
Thankfully, no one in my family that I know of has struggled with this disease. I have friends that have had problems with it, though. My son has a friend with a father who is struggling and I see that the boy’s father has a beautiful family, but he is never around. He is probably in the mid-thirties and I see how this disease affects his entire family.
Now that I’m working in this field, my perspective has changed. When I walk around town, I look at people differently and I talk to people about everything. People that know me come to me, and hopefully feel comfortable to ask me if I can help offer possible resources for friends or loved ones who may need recovery help.
If you are struggling and fighting right now, please reach out for help. There are a lot of people out there that care about you, that will listen to you and that can help you. There are people that want to help you and can tell you how to get on the right path. I love working in this area of medicine and think it’s amazing how much people care.