Juneau resident Reagan Eidsness lost two brothers to heroin overdoses. It\u2019s not an easy thing for her to talk about, but it\u2019s a conversation she\u2019s willing to have to save someone else from the pain she\u2019s experienced.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made it a point of making sure everyone knows that it\u2019s real, it happens to families all over,\u201d Eidsness said at a Saturday night vigil, holding a burning candle in honor of family members she can\u2019t be with now.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo brothers, that\u2019s a different story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearly 40 people gathered Saturday evening in Marine Park for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of those who lost their struggles with addiction and those who continue to struggle. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence worked with Juneau-Stop Heroin, Start Talking to host the event.<\/p>\n
Eidsness spoke to the circle as a survivor, not of addiction, but as someone touched by what addiction can do to a family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still grieving, I will forever after two brothers,\u201d she said. \u201cAnger and hurt are part of me and will be for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kara Nelson, a recovering addict and the director of Juneau\u2019s Haven House, held a candle in the circle for her own battle with addiction (she\u2019s overdosed three times in her life). She also held the flame for the women she sees and works with every day as she advocates for stronger recovery in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just am always here to support any efforts of people speaking up, because with our silence we allow other people to define us,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cI see this with the women in the home…it\u2019s overwhelming. We always have to be in the solution, always. Always in the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Alaska\u2019s Division of Public Health, heroin deaths in the state tripled from 2008 to 2013. Alaska Mental Health trustee Carlton Smith talked about how this difficult battle Juneau is facing is a war for the entire state to acknowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this moment, we know that the dangers of addiction now touch every Alaska family,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIn this moment we know that solutions must be collaborative and will require an entire community to act…one day soon, all Alaskans will know the serenity prayer that we share here and now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the flames were blown out, in unison the group recited the lines often spoken by addicts, but that also applies those fighting for change: \u201cGod, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information about Juneau-Stop Heroin, Start Talking, visit www.facebook.com\/stopheroinstarttalking\/?fref=ts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Juneau resident Reagan Eidsness lost two brothers to heroin overdoses. It\u2019s not an easy thing for her to talk about, but it\u2019s a conversation she\u2019s willing to have to save someone else from the pain she\u2019s experienced. \u201cI\u2019ve made it a point of making sure everyone knows that it\u2019s real, it happens to families all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":32800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[75],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-32799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32799"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=32799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}