LORAIN — Dodging raindrops, nearly 700 people gathered Friday night along Black River Landing to bring hope to those families affected by heroin addiction.
KRISTIN BAUER | CHRONICLE
Myrtle Rizer, of Sheffield Lake, speaks with Brenda Stewart, of Columbus, on Friday night, Sept. 11 while attending the Hope Over Heroin event, hosted at Black River Landing in Lorain. Rizer came with her group, Church of the North Coast, and is wearing a large chain around her neck to represent “breaking the chain of addiction.” Stewart attended the event with The Addicts Parents United, a group that seeks to help parents coping with their kids addiction.
During the annual “Hope Over Heroin in Lorain County,” 40 vendors set up tables under the pavilion where pamphlets, fliers and business cards were handed out in an effort to curb the countywide heroin epidemic.
According to spokesman Tim Williams, this was the largest collaborative event so far in Lorain County addressing the heroin epidemic that has affected Lorain County.
Earlier in the evening, Williams wasn’t sure the event would go on as planned, but by 7 p.m. the decision was made to move forward with the event that brought hundreds of visitors to the area.
“We’re gonna make some noise,” Williams said as the crowd cheered.
Williams said the driving force behind hosting an event in Lorain County is the negative devastating heroin is having in communities — and no community is safe.
Heroin does not discriminate, Williams said.
Williams explained that today’s heroin addict doesn’t fit the mold of what most people think when they hear “drug addict.”
“These are people who had back surgery and were on pain pills and then went to heroin because their prescription ran out or it’s cheaper,” Williams said. “It’s just a matter of time for the needle.”
And the needle kills, he said.
Sheffield Lake resident Myrtle Rizer has seen the end result of heroin usage firsthand. In 2011, her nephew died from heroin; and now, her best friend’s 21-year-old daughter is in the fight of her life trying to beat addiction.
But so far, addiction is winning; and Rizer is tired of it ruining lives.
“I’m wearing this chain because I want every link to be broken,” Rizer said, pointing to the chain around her neck. “Something has to change because this is happening to our future.”
LaGrange resident Adam Holcomb, 30, knows all too well that the struggle with addiction is real.
“I’m here because I struggle with addiction, but I want to reach out to others,” Holcomb said Friday. Holcomb’s struggle with heroin worsened over eight years; but he is now in recovery and has been sober for almost two years.
Holcomb said he still struggles on a daily basis, but that each day it gets easier to leave his days of addiction behind.
Holcomb, who attends Church of the Open Door with his family, including his wife, Lindsey, credits his faith in God and support of his family in helping him overcome drug addiction.
Holcomb admitted that his family was supportive of him until they weren’t.
“They were always there for me, but it wasn’t until they quit enabling me that I was able to help myself,” he said.
And, when asked if he ever envisioned himself on the other side of the fence, helping people with their addiction, he admitted he never saw himself offering advice to addicts.
“(I tell people now) don’t give up hope … reach out to somebody,” Holcomb said. “A problem shared is a problem cut in half.”
Lindsey Holcomb said she had to learn how to take care of herself and her children first before she could fully grasp what her husband was struggling with on a daily basis.
“I learned how to take care of myself without fixing the addict,” she said. “You learn how to detach with love.”
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