Schools

Former Celtic Chris Herren to Share Story of Drug Abuse With PVMHS Students

Former NBA player Chris Herren tours the United States these days sharing his story with students and adults alike.

Former Boston Celtics point guard Chris Herren will be stopping by Peabody Veterans Memorial High School on Wednesday to talk to students about the dangers of drug abuse.

The best example he can give is of his own life, which for a brief moment saw all his childhood dreams coming true and a career in the NBA, before it all came crashing down in a devastating cycle of addiction, particularly with heroin.

Herren, 37, finally overcame his addiction to drugs and alcohol after intensive rehabilitation and several relapses and has been drug-free since 2008. He started up a program called Hoop Dreams in 2009 to mentor young basketball players on an off the court and now travels throughout the United States, sharing his story with students and adults alike.

He arrives in Peabody thanks to Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, who also recently arranged for Herren to speak at an annual school safety conference this past spring in Danvers.

Blodgett, a Peabody native, said at the time he hoped to have Herren speak at PVMHS as well. Herren will address the entire student body of approximately 2,000 students on Wednesday afternoon.

“Chris is a riveting speaker and his story of redemption is incredibly powerful,” Blodgett said in an announcement. “He made an enormous impact at last year’s school safety conference, so I was pleased to be able to arrange for him to address the students at Peabody High School.”

Herren, who played for the Celtics in 2000, says he shares his story with students across the country to try and warn them of the very real dangers of alcohol and drug addiction.

“In the past four years I’ve been privileged to speak in front of thousands of teenagers who have related to my story and opened up about the substance abuse issues they or a loved one struggle with,” said Herren. “I look forward to speaking at Peabody High School and sharing the message that you do not need drugs or alcohol to change who you are; you are perfect just the way you are.”

“Unfortunately, we are seeing a resurgence of heroin in Essex County,” Blodgett said. “The number of reported fatal overdoses went up dramatically last year and is expected to be high this year as well."

"A critical message in Chris’ story is that he didn’t wake up one day and decide to shoot heroin. It was a long and treacherous road to that point that started with alcohol and marijuana, progressed to cocaine and prescription drugs, and ended with heroin,” Blodgett said.

The topic is one Blodgett has been trying to impress upon local youth for the past several years with educational prevention programs for high school students on heroin and OxyContin. Those efforts have also included partnering with other local, state and federal agencies and organizations to share data on trends in prevention, intervention and prosecution.

Blodgett has also instituted a drug diversion program in most of the district courts in Essex County. The program essentially offers non-violent offenders between ages 17 and 26 a chance to receive comprehensive substance abuse treatment instead of being prosecuted through the court system.


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