Residents struggling with addiction and their families were given a forum hosted by Charles County government to openly discuss the impact of addiction on their lives. As reported in The Maryland Independent:

Andrea found her son kneeling in the middle of the floor, dead. Earlier that day, she’d gone and picked him up from a stint in rehab, but he was dead of a drug overdose hours later.

The tragic tale was one of many shared at a county government-hosted forum Tuesday evening in La Plata geared toward giving those struggling with addiction and their loved ones a safe space to speak freely. Despite the night’s torrential downpours, more than 100 people came out to the event, held in La Plata High School’s auditorium.

Participants — whose last names the Maryland Independent is withholding to protect their privacy — were given six minutes apiece to speak. Amidst tales of how addiction had affected them, those who spoke proferred solutions to combat the tide of heroin and narcotic pill addiction. A theme emerged as the night went on: Addiction can strike any family, and making care and treatment more accessible could potentially do wonders, as could having a strong support system to fall back on.

For more information read the full article in The Maryland Independent.