While opiate addiction, especially heroin, has ravaged many parts of the country, the area seemingly hit the hardest is the Northeast. A rally in Manchester, NH last week focused on the issue and offered an opportunity for open dialogue and sharing resources.

The event was called “Heroin – Stop the Circle” and featured professional speakers as well as politicians and family members who lost loved ones to heroin addiction. One mother, whose son died last year from a heroin overdose, told the crowd, “If we don’t stand as one huge village … we won’t win. So keep up the fight. Recovery’s out there. Let’s make it happen, New Hampshire.”

Speaking up about the problem and making recovery resources more available are two vital components of reversing the trend. When people stay silent the limit themselves in terms of finding help.

One of the most effective ways of stopping the circle is to intervene on the problem. The overwhelming majority of drug interventions end up in success – meaning the person needing help gets enrolled into treatment somewhere and is given a chance and recovery.

Just like family interventions can be so successful, so can community-wide interventions. Rallies like these all over the country will soon be taking place as part of National Recovery Month, which is an annual observance each September.

This particular event was organized by a local activist named Melissa Laferriere, who said, “I believe it is our responsibility as a community, as individuals and as human beings to provide the help and hope that is so desperately needed right now.”