The new Worcester Recovery High School held on grand opening on Wednesday attended by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Mayor Joseph Petty and other elected officials.
WORCESTER – R.J. White has been sober for one month – the same amount of time he’s been attending Worcester’s new Recovery High School as a senior this year.
White began his journey to overcome a heroin addiction at the same time the school opened it’s doors to help young people in the Worcester area who’ve struggled with addiction get back on the right track. It’s good for young people to overcome their addictions before entering the world of work because if their employers require them to take a drug test Cleveland OH, they run the risk of failing it and losing their job before their career has even begun.
On Wednesday, White celebrated one month sober and the high school celebrated it’s grand opening.
“We’ve come together as a family in a unique and special way,” said Susan Strong, principal of the Recovery High School.
The school, the fifth of it’s kind in Massachusetts and the first in the central part of the state, opened in September with 16 students enrolled. Eventually, they’ll have space for up to 50.
At the grand opening Wednesday, attended by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Mayor Joseph Petty and many local representatives who helped secure funding for the school, three seniors, including White, shared their stories.
“I lived my life accepting I’d be a failure,” said Darilyn Espinoza, a 17-year-old senior. “RHS helped turn that around.”
Officials lauded the opening of the Recovery High School as one of many steps to combat the opioid epidemic.
The school supports students in recovery while also teaching a college preparatory curriculum, including a full service science lab, a 3D printer and computer lab.
Students were interviewed by Strong prior to be accepted and had to also write a letter demonstrating their commitment to recovery.
“There’s not overnight solution. We just have to keep at it,” Polito said. “We’re doing it for them,” she said gesturing toward the students. “They deserve a chance for a healthy and good life.”
Webster Superintendent Barbara Malkas, on the board of the Recovery High School, said its opening couldn’t come soon enough for her district. She noted even in a small district like hers, they’ve been greatly impacted by the opioid epidemic.
“In April, our emergency director came to us and said he’d already used all the Narcan he’d used in the previous year,” Malkas said.
At the opening, AdCare presented the Recovery High School with a $5,000 check to help their ongoing recovery programs.
Source: MassLive Worcester http://masslive.com/news/worcester
