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Drug Stories Project

Drug Stories Project

By Drug Stories Project

By sharing the personal narratives of those affected by the opioid and addiction epidemic, we can help erase the stigma. Listen. Learn. Share your story.
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Andy Viner Seiler: Withdrawal

Drug Stories ProjectFeb 15, 2018

00:00
07:06
Ben Heldfond -Accountable in Recovery & Love

Ben Heldfond -Accountable in Recovery & Love

Drugs and alcohol may have dulled the pain of Ben Heldfond’s youth, but they did not make the pain go away. 

In recovery he learned lessons about accountability that finally helped him process the pain – lessons which he would apply to all aspects of his life.

“Our Happy Divorce,” the book he co-wrote with his ex-wife, Nikki DeBartolo, about their journey to successful co-parenting and lasting friendship, was published in October 2019.

Dec 12, 201911:46
Michael King -Politics & Addiction

Michael King -Politics & Addiction

Change doesn’t come about on a national scale without strategic planning and organizing.  Just ask Michael King.

Michael spent a decade organizing & running political campaigns around the US.  Now, as the Director and Creator of The Communities Project, he’s taking that expertise to communities across the country to align their voices and combat addiction through organizing.

But first he had to work through his own addictions to alcohol and gambling.

Oct 24, 201910:02
Jam Alker - Breaking Barriers
Nov 21, 201811:30
Denise Williams -My Twin Sons

Denise Williams -My Twin Sons

About ten years ago, Denise Williams found herself trying to navigate the intersection of mental illness and addiction with her twin sons, Ryan and Matt.

She wishes she had been better prepared.
Nov 02, 201816:26
Paula Fish -Drug Court

Paula Fish -Drug Court

There are currently more than 3,000 drug courts in the United States. The one in Anne Arundel County, Maryland continues to expand. Drug Court manager, Paula Fish, explains how it works and why it saves lives.
Oct 25, 201807:20
Maureen Cavanagh -Maternal Instincts

Maureen Cavanagh -Maternal Instincts

Maureen Cavanagh is the founder of Magnolia New Beginnings, a non profit nationwide peer support group for those affected by substance use disorder. Her memoir, "If You Love Me: a Mother's Journey through her Daughter's Opioid Addiction" was published in September 2018.
Oct 18, 201807:54
Yana Khashper -Filling the Void

Yana Khashper -Filling the Void

As a social worker, Yana Khashper knew how to connect people struggling with mental health and addiction issues with the resources they might need. But for many years, there was a disconnect when it came to helping herself. Now in long-term recovery, Yana and her partner run ROCovery Fitness in Rochester, New York.
Oct 11, 201812:07
Sicily Owings -I Work at a Methadone Clinic

Sicily Owings -I Work at a Methadone Clinic

At the methadone clinic where she works, Sicily Owings hears from clients about the relationship between trauma and addiction in their lives. She also knows about it firsthand.
Sep 27, 201807:40
Isabel Landrum - Working on Myself

Isabel Landrum - Working on Myself

“This is what addiction does. It takes everything from us.” In recovery since, 2015, Isabel Landrum is working on getting her life back as she helps others at a detox and treatment center in Southern California.
Sep 20, 201804:02
Eric Sterling - Inside the War on Drugs

Eric Sterling - Inside the War on Drugs

In 1979, 30 year-old Eric Sterling went to work for a Democrat-led House committee tackling crime. A year later, Ronald Reagan won the White House and Republicans won the Senate. An epic battle for political control consumed much of the rest of that decade, and Sterling was in the middle of it, tasked with drafting the mandatory minimum sentencing policy.

Now he has spent the last 30 years speaking out against the repercussions and cynicism of the drug policy he helped enact and the destructive nature of the war on drugs.
Sep 13, 201816:40
Angel Traynor - Recovery Housing

Angel Traynor - Recovery Housing

From her own experience, Angel Traynor knew that if you don’t give someone a structured place to go after treatment and send them back into their old environment instead, they are at a high risk to relapse.

So she stepped in with Serenity Sistas housing, a safe haven for up to 47 people in recovery.
Sep 07, 201809:57
Terry Brent - Music Therapy

Terry Brent - Music Therapy

Everyone's journey of recovery is different but finding the strength, courage and hope to share your feelings is integral to living life to the fullest without drugs and alcohol. In South Florida, musician Terry Brent leads clients through a song-writing, recording and performing process that boosts them on their personal journey. Featuring the song, Piece of My Heart, by S.
Aug 31, 201806:59
Karen McGinnis - God gave me a reason to want to live

Karen McGinnis - God gave me a reason to want to live

At age 37, after 20 years of battling the disease of addiction, Karen McGinnis found a reason to make a change and make it work -- the birth of her son. Now in long-term recovery, she says, "I’m a single, independent, fully self-supporting woman today. And it’s the most liberating thing I’ve ever experienced because there was a time in my life where I took advantage of the system. And I have overcome all of that."
Aug 21, 201807:43
Kim Manlove - Surviving the Worst Loss

Kim Manlove - Surviving the Worst Loss

Grief is an individual experience. When the Manloves' son, David, died from a drug-related event, Kim's feelings of guilt and shame overwhelmed him -- but it did not divide him from his wife, and together they have found acceptance.
Aug 14, 201809:44
Mariel Hafnagel: Grace & Luck

Mariel Hafnagel: Grace & Luck

Mariel Hafnagel is the Executive Director of the Ammon Foundation. In longterm recovery since 2007, she knows the disease of addiction well. Grace and luck and a lot of compassionate support changed her life.
Aug 08, 201809:48
Faye Jamali: Doctor in Recovery

Faye Jamali: Doctor in Recovery

In 2007, Dr. Faye Jamali broke her wrist. What happened in the next few months jeopardized her career as an anesthesiologist and made her understand pain in a new way.
Jun 06, 201815:35
Dakota Ayers: Not My Job to Judge

Dakota Ayers: Not My Job to Judge

As an emergency medical technician, Dakota Ayers has seen a lot of pain and illness, much of it related to opioid addiction. When he responds to call, his job is to provide care and transportation on the way to the hospital. He's not there to judge.
May 22, 201807:31
Bob Nicklas: A Lucky Man

Bob Nicklas: A Lucky Man

Bob Nicklas: A Lucky Man by Drug Stories Project
May 02, 201806:03
Lisa Curtin: My Mom

Lisa Curtin: My Mom

In the late 1990s, Lisa Curtin's mother read about a new drug called Oxycontin, and then nothing was ever the same for Lisa or her family.
Apr 30, 201809:32
Jenny Beetz: You Can't Have Both

Jenny Beetz: You Can't Have Both

Jenny Beetz loved how heroin made her feel, but she appreciates the stability of her life without it.
Apr 26, 201809:17
Ted Stout: Doctors

Ted Stout: Doctors

If he had continued to follow the advice of his doctor, Ted Stout might not be alive today. The prescribed opioids reduced the physical pain he suffered from Postherpetic Neuralgia -- until they made him much sicker. Then he took matters into his own hands.
Mar 19, 201809:37
Eric Whitaker: Listening to Learn

Eric Whitaker: Listening to Learn

Eric Whitaker understands the destructive patterns and habits that can rule life. And he's figured out a way to break his. He's clean and he's sharing his story.
Mar 15, 201807:03
Capt. Tyrone Collington: Saving Lives

Capt. Tyrone Collington: Saving Lives

Capt. Tyrone Collington is the commander of Takoma Park, MD's patrol division. His #1 mission is to save lives. Sometimes that entails the use of a powerful tool called Narcan.
Feb 21, 201804:53
Andy Viner Seiler: Withdrawal

Andy Viner Seiler: Withdrawal

Andy Viner Seiler: Withdrawal by Drug Stories Project
Feb 15, 201807:06
Anne LeVeque: Insidious

Anne LeVeque: Insidious

Anne LeVeque: Insidious by Drug Stories Project
Feb 13, 201807:07