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Recovery in the News
Getting help for loved ones
Mike GaffneyTownonline
September 7, 2006
Donna McNeil knows the helpless feeling of having a loved one struggle with drug addiction. She’s also seen how strong the human spirit can be in breaking free of addiction, which is why she is spearheading a campaign to educate the public about drug addiction recovery.
In McNeil’s Roby School office are boxes filled with pamphlets, posters and handouts that will be distributed to residents this weekend at Founder’s Day.
McNeil, a member of Saugus Speaks Out and executive assistant to Schools Superintendent Dr. Keith Manville, is hoping the information will resonate with families so they don’t have to experience the ordeal she has suffered over the last eight years as the parent of a child addicted to drugs.
McNeil’s daughter started on Oxycontin pills and then became hooked on cocaine and heroin. She eventually resorted to crime to support her drug habit and bottomed out by ending up in a Connecticut prison.
Thankfully McNeil’s daughter decided to turn her life around and sought help from a probation officer. She ended up in a treatment program and has been clean for almost a year, her recovery aided by unwavering family support and a spiritual connection to a new church she joined.
At Founder’s Day, Saugus Speaks Out will highlight what steps can be taken to help drug users recover from their addictions. The timing couldn’t be better: September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.
"I think it’s important, because people seem to always be talking about addiction and never mention recovery," McNeil said. "We want to spread the message that recovery is possible if people recognize signs of addiction and get their loved ones the help they need."
McNeil will be one of several Saugus Speaks Out members staffing the information booth stationed in front of Frank’s Gulf station.
The booth will feature a variety of useful material residents can leaf through or bring home, including pamphlets offering tips for teens to be aware of drugs, details on available drug treatment programs and information on addiction recovery.
McNeil recommended parents take the pamphlets home and share them with their children. She recently showed a few to her daughter and saw how much the information hit home.
"She told me that if she’d known about things such as the long-term effects of heroin use she would have thought twice about trying it in the first place," McNeil said.
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