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Awareness walk

A local group, Hope for Broken Hearts conducted Walk of Hope on May 16 in downtown Butler. The walk’s purpose was to bring awareness of the drug epidemic.

Awareness is the first step in making a difference. Many people don’t talk about it. Others say it’s too big to do anything about. But we believe when people join together, they can make a difference.

We have to start somewhere. Education is the beginning of the process. All of our schools should be involved in programs like Stand Tall. Children need more than just one assembly a year. This is important — it’s a national epidemic.

More people are dying from drug overdoses than car accidents. In 2014, at least seven people a day died from a drug overdose in Pennsylvania alone. That is an alarming rate of deaths. An estimated 25 percent of families are directly affected by drug abuse.

There’s a lot of misinformation out there and people don’t understand why users cannot just stop. They have no idea what addicting drugs do to the bodies of addicts and those whot are working through recovery. Opiate addiction is the strongest by far. It is a battle every day for the rest of their lives.

If people would use their resources to make a positive difference, it would make the world better for all of us. If we could all join forces — schools, churches, agencies, elected officials, and law enforcement — we can fight this epidemic.

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