Growing up in Lowell my whole life has taught me lots about how to handle life and grow up fast.

It was a calm, warm summer night. I was home, sitting in the family room watching a movie. At the time I was only 14. My mom was in the kitchen talking on the phone. The calmness was interrupted by the sound of someone hustling to open the side door. My mother and I were caught completely off guard.

Sprinting in came my brother looking distraught and panicked. My brother was always someone I admired. He would pull tricks on me and tease me, but overall he is a great brother. But that night I saw a different part of him when he abruptly asked my mom for her car keys. She refused, and tried to calm him down. He got frustrated and pushed past her reaching for her purse. I watched this unfold, frozen in fear. My heart was in my stomach and I felt planted to the couch. He started threatening her. She ran into the bathroom and locked the door. He kicked a hole in the door saying “I can’t be here, I need to leave!” I learned later that earlier that night a drug dealer wasn’t paid enough and wanted to get back at my brother. I ran to call 911, not quite understanding what was happening. The police showed up, held my brother down, and arrested him.

The police made sure my mother was okay and I ran to hug her. We were both crying. My family and trust was broken. That day I was introduced to how powerful addiction is. How it can take over your life. So powerful it makes you hurt yourself and those you love.

After his arrest, my brother was sent to rehab in Florida for eight months. I heard very little from him. When I did get to call and talk to him, he said he felt terrible for what he did. After that, he came back to Lowell to live in a halfway house. He tried to gain back our trust and start over his life. But I felt that he was being sly and desperate. He didn’t seem sincere. He relapsed a year later and we started all over again.

While he was in rehab that second time, I decided I wanted to know more about opioid addiction. I wanted to try and understand him and how easy it is to become addicted. For a school project we needed to research a current issue and develop a solution to try to address it. My class proposed a mandatory education program for student athletes around opioid education. My classmates and I had the privilege to present at the Massachusetts State House in front of student leaders, teachers, mentors, and others. Our hard work paid off when we received an award that day and were featured in the Lowell Sun newspaper.

I want to make a difference for those hurting from opioids and opioid addiction. This project made me feel empowered. I felt as if I had a voice and was finally being heard.

I never really thought about the opioid epidemic until I saw the effects it left on my family. My brother came up from Florida for my birthday this year. I felt that he had changed for the better, that he was different. I felt that I could trust him again. My brother is now better than ever. He’s just over two years sober and speaks at schools and events around this area about his story. He has completely changed his life around and is now mentally and financially stable. He just invested in a new car and added a new member to his family named Polo! A four-month old puppy! We talk often. I couldn’t be more proud of my brother and how far he has come.

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