Using funds from a statewide opioid settlement, the City of Reno is launching an opioid awareness campaign called “Finding the Light.”
The campaign is meant to reduce stigma, create a safe space for open and honest conversations about opioid use, and most importantly, provide resources to those in our community who may be struggling with addiction.
To help accomplish those goals, the campaign features personal stories of several community members who have been impacted by opioid use.
One is Kelsie Dreher, an opioid survivor, who now works in the Recovery Community Management Department at Crossroads.
Crossroads is a human services initiative through Washoe County meant to help give community members a path to a better life.
“If we look around the city, it's devastating to see how many people are really struggling,” said Dreher. “The main thing right now is opioids. It's even in drugs that aren't supposed to be opioids, you know, and it's creating a really dangerous situation for everybody who lives here in Reno.”
Dreher has been sober for nearly five years and now works to try and help people who are still in the throes of their own addiction.
Joshua Shay also works at Crossroads as a Peer Recovery and Support Specialist -- helping to rehabilitate community members struggling with addiction. He is an opioid survivor, too.
Both Dreher and Shay say they hope sharing their story will inspire others to accept help and get clean -- as well as possibly save some lives.
“I've realized that a certain picture is painted and it's not painted by the person living the story,” said Shay. “It's painted by others, and I think oftentimes that picture is incorrect.”
To learn more about the “Finding the Light: Real Stories of Survival and Service” campaign, click this link:City of Reno, NV.
To learn more about Crossroads, go here:CrossRoads - Washoe County
