Last Saturday night, we were proud to be in attendence at the Raymond J. Lesniak Recovery High School annual fundraiser. The school is set to begin accepting students in 2015 and not a moment too soon. With prescription drug and heroin abuse continuing to infiltrate our communities, we are seeing rising numbers of young people in need of treatment. The true greatness behind Recovery High School’s mission is the idea that those who are in recovery from an addiction need to have a supporting environment to learn and grow in. That’s precisely what RHS is all about.

The theme of Saturday’s event, very fittingly, was “believe”. Our friends and partners at Prevention Links saw a need and believed they could help fulfill it. This belief was fostered by Senator Lesniak and other strategic partners, culminating in the institution of the first recovery based high school in the state. Similarly, the students who will be attending this school will be doing so because they believe they can win the fight against substance abuse addiction, and the supportive faculty and staff will share this belief. It truly takes a village to raise a child and it takes an entire community banding together to defeat substance abuse.

While at the event, Senator Lesniak announced a plan to introduce legislation that would open three recovery high schools across the state. This is truly a wonderful step forward and addresses the fact that substance abuse affects all communities. The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey proudly stands by and supports Senator Lesniak, Prevention Links, and all shareholders in this great initiative.

Recovery High School stresses three main values: experience, strength, and hope. Experience is for those who have or are currently dealing with a substance abuse addiction, strength for those who have identified the issue and are working to get themselves help, and hope for their and healthy futures. After events like Saturday, I’m happy to see that hope for all suffering with a substance abuse issue is on the horizon.