UWO Professor Grace Lim led her journalism class into a new adventure in August 2019 when she introduced Bethanie, one of her students, to John. Lim invited her students to attend the Opioid Summit as part of their Special Topics in Writing class and John was there representing Narcotics Anonymous. Bethanie didn’t know it at the time, but she was about to learn a lot about how substance use, addiction, and the hard work of a life in recovery as John shared his story with her. From that meeting, FIXED: Pain, Addiction and Life in Recovery began.
Student’s paired up with strangers to learn about substance use, addiction, and the community impact. Initially, an event unveiling this student-led project was scheduled for May 2020, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19. As we turn the calendar from Recovery Month (September) to National Substance Use Prevention Month, the Advance Titan will be sharing stories from the FIXED project.
You can read what Bethanie writes about the project here and check back for additional stories throughout October. Together, we can prevent substance use and reduce the number of people having to face the struggle of addiction, while we work to support those who need it.
To learn more about how you can get involved and change the picture of substance use and addiction in our community, visit our Get Involved page and contact us.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call 211 or text your zip code to 898211 and get connected to resources in your area.
