‘Addiction ... didn’t get talked about’
I had a great life growing up. I had the white picket fence, riding bikes up the street in town. I’m from Gloucester. It was a very homey, community-like town. Addiction was something that didn’t get talked about a lot . ... When I was 13 years old I got my tonsils out, a very simple procedure. I was prescribed 30 Vicodin. I took them. They made me feel good. It had two refills, so I got 60 more. As a kid not knowing about addiction or the effects of opiates, I did what the docs told me to do. ... Before I knew it, I was fully addicted.
Going through my struggles and everything addiction comes with, there were a few people who were able to help me climb out of that hole, and I owe my life to them. Unfortunately my life had a lot of people that had passed away through addiction . ... Being young, a lot of us just weren’t educated. With the help of other people, I was able to get treatment and the help I needed.
I went to Northshore Recovery High School for two years. Those people are still my family and I still visit them whenever I’m struggling, or if I have other people who are struggling. That was unbelievably helpful for me, being a young kid, being surrounded by other kids that were going through the exact same thing as I was.
It made me want to help people, want to give back because I was so freely given help.
I’ve had people who would be just like, “Oh my God, this is exactly what I have been waiting for.” A lot of people do jump at the chance. There are always going to be people who are hesitant. … It’s 7030, about people saying “Yes, yes, yes, please,” and “No, I’m not sure. I don’t know. I think I can do it on my own.”