Many lives have been destroyed by substance abuse and the disease of addiction. Too often, this disease is perceived as deserved and shameful, leaving families to grieve in silence, or an addict struggling to recover alone.
The NOPE Vigil strives to raise awareness and open the doors to recovery by eliminating the prejudice that has followed the disease of addiction; a disease that shows no prejudice to any walk of life or background. With the removal of shame comes the hope for survival. Acceptance of the disease can be humbling to the soul, and, in turn, empowering to those in need, to seek help.
Ultimately, by eliminating the prejudice, the tragic loss of life from drug and alcohol related deaths will diminish. The memory of our children, our relatives and our friends, who have passed, will live on in our hearts, forever honored and memorialized. May the dreams they had and the lives they lived be remembered always, and may each heart and soul they have touched, though forever changed, be healed.
