Greensburg rally offers message of hope on National Overdose Awareness Day
At 18 years old, Nakkia Proffit had to watch as a friend fatally overdosed, and it still was not enough to keep her from making negative decisions about drugs.
On Saturday, Proffit was continuing her recovery and shared her story with attendees at a rally in Greensburg’s St. Clair Park in observance of National Overdose Awareness Day.
“There’s a lot of people here who are a huge part of my life,” said Proffit, one of two recovery speakers at the rally. “When everyone should’ve turned their backs on me, they showed me support and love.”
Amy White of Greensburg has several friends who have overdosed. She said events like this help those who have been left to grieve in the wake of a fatal overdose to share that grief and connect with one another.
“People get together and learn from each other, especially people who’ve had someone in their life O.D.,” White said.
Below, Proffit shares her story.
Some chose to create small prayer flags in memory or tribute, supplied as an art therapy project by Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services.
“This is the first year we’ve done these,” said SPHS art therapist Barbara Vaughan. “People have found it very moving and thought-provoking.”
Messages like “Loved But Never Forgotten” and “Love You to the Moon” adorn the simple black-and-white memorial prayer flags.
It’s a memorial that Westmoreland County Drug Overdose Task Force Director Tim Phillips hopes will be less necessary in the future.
“We need to keep these connections going,” Phillips said of the outreach happening throughout the day at the rally, where recovery services, local churches and social service organizations offered information and aid. “I always say that connection is the opposite of addiction.”
Phillips’ message was echoed in the stories of speakers Proffit and Ryan Rupert, who is also in recovery. Both talked about the loneliness and the feeling of worthlessness that can accompany the struggle with addiction.
Rupert said he had to be resuscitated 14 times before quitting drugs for good in October 2009.
Rupert said one of the most powerful things someone struggling with addiction can hear is that they matter.
“You hear it all the time: ‘Well, they’re an addict, (screw) ’em,’ ” he said. “But they’re not just an addict. They’re someone’s son or daughter.”
Proffit stressed the importance of taking things one day at a time.
“If you’re here and you’re an addict, you’re breathing. You’re here,” she said. “And we’re here for you.”
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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