Bridgeway’s ROSC program held its first annual Anti-Stigma Campaign in Standish Park in Galesburg on Saturday, June 18th. This event featured a day full of activities with the goal of bringing the community together to help end the stigma of substance use. There were recovery speakers who shared their stories scheduled throughout the day, including Sue Tisdale, who works for Unity Point and advocates for proper Narcan training after her son died from an overdose years ago. The next speaker was Hank Boehme who shared his powerful story of childhood trauma and his environment serving in the Army that led to his eventual substance use. Simultaneously throughout the event, there was family-friendly fun including bounce houses and games being ran by Bridgeway’s Prevention Team. Included in the family fun was a dunk tank that was a huge success and generated $255 that ROSC will donate to Knox County Drug Court.
There were also over 20 community resource tables there that included Bridgeway, Goodwill, Family Planning, Narcotics Anonymous, Illinois Help Line, Alcoholics Anonymous, ROE #33, Community Hygiene Pantry, Gateway, Victim Services, Celebrate Recovery, PFLAG, HERO, and Jolt Harm Reduction.
After lunch, the speakers continued with Galesburg Mayor Peter Schwartzman leading off. He talked about how important the ROSC program is to the community and how proud he is to have Bridgeway and ROSC in Galesburg. Following his speech was the Harm Reduction Panel that featured four panelists from all over Illinois to discuss the importance of harm reduction and how it saves lives. Next was Octavio Campos, who shared his incredible story of trying to find his place as a gay, Cuban man while struggling with addiction. Finally, Steven Murphy shared his story as a black man growing up during segregation and how certain aspects lead him to addiction.
This was an extremely successful event and was wonderfully planned by Bridgeway’s ROSC team. Throughout the day, it is estimated that there were a couple hundred people in attendance at the park. This was a huge step in working to end the stigma around substance use in our community.
For more information, visit www.bway.org.
***Courtesy of Bridgeway***
