Hazard's Recovery Fair included people telling stories of recovery from addiction to decrease stigma and encourage others to seek it

The Rebound Center in Hazard (Image from WYMT -TV)

Several organizations specializing in addiction treatment took part in a Recovery Fair in Hazard on Saturday, June 4, as a way to decrease stigma and show those fighting addiction that they have support. The event was hosted by the Rebound Center at Perry County Park, Chandler Wilcox reports for WYMT-TV.

“People feel like it’s hopeless in this area and we just want to all get together and spread the word that you can recover from it,” Sandra Boucher, director of Perry County's Quick Response Team, told WYMT. 

A Quick Response Team provides a way for public-safety officials to work with behavioral-health providers to serve people who have experienced an opioid-related overdose or complication such as a blood-borne infection. The team's goal is to reduce the incidence of overdoses and overdose fatalities by increasing the number of people who receive services for opioid-use disorder, including harm reduction and treatment.

Recovery Fair attendee Sarah Cooper, who is also in recovery, told WYMT that these shows of support and people telling their recovery stories go a long way to helping others take that next step.

“By it being public like this now, it’s easier for people to come forward and admit that they need help and ask for that help and receive that help because there’s obviously a lot of different places where they can go get help,” Cooper told WYMT.