Walk to focus on those who overcame addiction
Strip District event will include recovery stories
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Overdose deaths are setting records. Public health leaders call opioid abuse an epidemic. Drugs claimmore lives than car crashes do.
But for several hours next weekend, hundreds of people will converge Downtown to spotlight another dimension of the addiction crisis: bouncing back.
That theme is a cornerstone of the Pittsburgh Recovery Walk, expected to draw some 2,000 people in its second year. An estimated 1,200 turned out for the inaugural gathering last September.
“The reality is that most people do recover from addiction,” said Jess Williams, communications director at the nonprofit Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addictions. “For some people, that means they are totally abstinent. For somepeople, that means they moderatetheir substance use.”
Downtown-based IRETA and the office of Bruce Kraus, president of city council, organize the free event. Set for Sept. 16, it will begin about 9 a.m. at 11th Street and Waterfront Place in the Strip District.
Walkers will follow Penn Avenue to Market Square, where a Recovery Expo featuring community resources for substance abuse will continue until 1 p.m. A children’s tent, live music and a variety of speakers are lined up, too.
Several people from the area are expected to share their own recovery stories with the crowd. More than 600 people died from drugs last yearin Allegheny County, up 44 percent from 2015. Fentanyl and heroin account for much of the increase, whichechoes national trends.
“I think it’s more important now than ever to tell the story of recovery,” said Mr. Kraus, who is marking nearly 30 years of sobriety after he joined a 12-step program. “People needto know there’s hope.”
The event follows similar walks across the country, encouraging awareness of treatment options and highlighting inspirational successes over drug and alcohol addiction.
PA Health and Wellness, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Centene Corp., kicked in $25,000 as a lead sponsor.
No city money is involved, Mr. Kraus said.
“I would say that probably everybody, without exception, has been touched by substance abuse in some form or fashion,” said Eric Lisle, CEO at PA Health and Wellness. The organization focuses largely on care for seniors, and “certainly a subset of those would be recovering [from addiction], as well,” Mr. Lisle said.
While the walk is open to everyone, organizers encourage participants to register in advance at pghrecoverywalk.org. Goals include undercutting the stigma of addiction, Ms. Williams said. She expects attendees from across southwestern Pennsylvania.
Jordan Pearlman, 35, of Squirrel Hill, a volunteer at last year’s walk, found unity in the assembly. He said people in recovery “who are still able to live a day at a time” can set a powerful example.
“It shows the positive side of recovery,” Mr. Pearlman said.