Illaria Dana, Education Major

There are many theories about addiction. To people who suffer from addiction and their loved ones, it can often seem baffling. Despite their proximity, or because of it, addiction is hard to understand. It is hard to understand why one turns to the same substance over and over again despite the negative consequences which include loss of loved ones, alienation, stigmatism, disease, and death.

Popular opinion has considered addiction to be a moral issue and has labeled users as people who are actively seeking their own destruction. This, however, is untrue and unhelpful. If addiction is considered to be a lack of morality, then no one can help addicts who suffer. Ethos and religion cannot be forced upon a person, especially when this person is physically sick and emotionally isolated. New theories have arisen, such as the consideration of addiction as a disease, a disease of isolation.

There have been two events in two weeks in Portland to raise money and support for addicts who still suffer and who are trying to recover. On September 11th, there was a benefit at Tandem Coffee Roasters, located at 742 Congress Street, for the Needle Exchange in Portland. The event was called The School O’Life and put on by Hear Tell: True Stories Told Live.

Hear Tell is the work of Elise Pebble, and others. Pebble told Bangor Daily News that, “Storytelling is a democratic art; it is a renewable resource” and cites the radio program The Moth as being an inspiration. She told a story that night about her internship for her degree in social work. Other storytellers included Lisa Bunker, who works for WMPG, Greater Portland’s Community Radio station that empowers volunteers to be trained in radio and have their voices heard.

Young, artsy-looking people packed into the small café. People sat on the floor in the front, and in the back, there was standing room only. The audience was transformed by each storyteller’s honesty. There was laughter, and there was that quiet ambience that comes with sadness, with sadness one knows is true. Pebble’s story made audience members reflect upon times when they knew something was wrong and could not find the understanding and support to help them. This is true of the addict, where, despite feeling like she should be able to control herself, this is not possible alone.

The benefit raised $1,400 for the Needle Exchange, as Tandem matched the drink sales and a donation bucket passed around. This is a huge amount, since the Needle Exchange cannot use local or state funds to purchase clean syringes. The School O’Life’s event page on Facebook broke down what this money means: “$5.00 = one clean safe injecting kit; $10.00 = 100 clean syringes and 100 vials of sterile water; $25.00 = HIV and Hepatitis C test; $150.00 = Enough syringes to supply the program for a week.”

The second event was the Maine Rally for Recovery on September 20th in Deering Oaks Park. There was live music, food trucks (with vouchers for free food being handed out), free reiki, henna, and face paint. People in recovery from addiction and their supporters enjoyed the sun and good company. If addiction is a disease of isolation, events like these strive to bring people together, to succeed individually and as a community, to reflect on what values are important, to show tolerance and love for those who need it.