Hundreds support addiction awareness in Hot Springs
Last Update: 10/06/2009 11:10 am
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Right now, it's National Recovery Month, and Saturday, the Quapaw House in Hot Springs, which helps those dealing with drug and alcohol addiction, hosted a recovery rally.It started as just a walk and quickly turned into an entire day to celebrate and support those on the path to recovery.Ben Martin isn't just the coordinator of the rally. "I suffer from the disease of addiction myself," he says.He decided to get help several years ago. "It's pay it forward. There's people there to help you as you're coming along, and once you get to a certain point, you basically turn around and you're there to help others along," says Martin.Now, he goes to schools, teaching teens about the dangers of addiction. "It's not a punishment. It's an opportunity for them to learn from their mistake and make better choices from then on," he explained.The Executive Director of Quapaw House in Garland County says 30-percent of sixth graders binge drink."These people happen to be in recovery, and they are normal in every single meaning of the word except for the fact that maybe 20-percent of Americans cannot moderate their intake of substances. Eighty-percent can. They could drink moderately. They can even take recreational drugs, God forbid," says Bob O’Dowd. O'Dowd also explained how for every one person in recovery, twenty people's lives are directly impacted."They're here for one another today. Not just for themselves, and that's what's fabulous," he says."We do recover. We do lead normal lives in society, and it's not a curable disease, but there is a way to deal with it and put it in to remission," added Martin.About five-hundred people were at Saturday's recovery rally.
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