Local organizations, Voices Coalition and Starcare teamed together to host an Overdose Awareness Rally to educate the community about substance abuse, while remembering those who have passed away from overdose, but also those who have made it through recovery.
Texas Tech student, Patrick Garron is part of the university’s center for collegiate recovery. He is sober and ready to thrive on a new journey, he said overdose can be accidental and happen as a user gradually builds up their tolerance.
“When I overdosed it was not on purpose, I was at my buddy’s house and I took a bunch of pills and the next thing I know I woke up in a hospital bed and I didn’t realize how it got to that point,”
Garron said it’s important for the community to take away the social stigma associated with drug addicts and realize that all walks of life are struggling with substance abuse.
“It’s your guy who goes to work the suit, it’s your stay at home moms,” Ga frron said. “It’s best to be informed about these situations to learn how to help,”
Texas Tech student Melissa Silva said she enjoys encouraging fellow students in recovery. Working at Lubbock clinics, she said she has seen too many people loose their lives to overdose.
“I want others to know there is hope, you don’t have to die from the disease today, there is a solution, and we have to encourage that loved one in a healthy way, be a beacon of hope,” Silva said.
