On Aug. 31, communities across the world honored the lives of those lost to addiction and the courage of those in recovery. In Schuylkill County, 505 flags lined Pottsville and Tamaqua – each one representing a life lost to substance use overdose between 2016-2022.
“What we want to do is do a visual, y’know that people see and ask questions [about]. I have people all day come up and ask, ‘What is all the purple flags for?’ So, you get to explain what it is and you get to tell your story.”
That’s Tammy Sienkiewicz, co-creator of Safer Streets for Tamaqua’s Little Feet, a nonprofit dedicated to overdose awareness and addiction support for those facing addiction, those in recovery and their loved ones. She started Safer Streets in 2016, a month after her daughter Alexandria passed away.
“I realized talking to other moms [who lost their children to substance use overdose,] they said the same thing as me, ‘I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to ask anybody for help because I was too embarrassed,’” Sienkiewicz said. “And I said, ‘Y’know, what? We have to stop this scenario.’ I looked at my husband and said, ‘We’re going to walk.’”
And Sienkiewicz did. She went around Tamaqua raising money for candles and asked people to join her for the first “Into the Light Walk” to raise awareness for substance use disorder. Around 350 people joined that first walk.
Now, Sienkiewicz holds an awareness event each year at Tamaqua Depot Square alongside other overdose awareness and recovery groups. Organizers handed out
fentanyl testing strips (FTS) and naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, to passersby. Over the last few months, Sienkiewicz has been giving out Narcan to Tamaqua businesses. One reached out soon afterwards.
“Two days later, and a restaurant in town here had an overdose happen…to a customer. And they had the Narcan I gave them. And they were very grateful. They said, ‘They saved him,” Sienkiewicz said.
Alongside providing Narcan and other harm reduction resources, organizers and participants shared their own stories of losses and struggles with drug addiction. However, there were moments for celebration, too.
Kerri Scheitrum is a regional director for New Roots, an addiction support recovery center. She is celebrating nearly seven years of sobriety and manages a team of nine certified recovery specialists (CRS) who work with people embarking on recovery.
“They will meet people where they’re at. You don’t have to come to our center, our CRSs will come out and meet them,” said Scheitrum. “At their home, Burger King, Dunkin’ – wherever they need to meet. And they’ll help them find the resources, and navigate the system, because in the beginning of recovery you don’t know [how to access them]. You don’t have an ID – most don’t have an ID, drivers license, birth certificate, social security card. We do all that. And not only do we do it, we help fund it.”
However, Scheitrum says that those services are not the focus of her and other CRSs’ job.
“If [someone in recovery] is having a hard day, they can come in, sit at the center, and just talk. We’re not counseling – we don’t do professional counseling – we refer them out. We are just simple peer support and the most important thing is, you’re talking to someone with lived experience,” Scheitrum said.
Besides connecting a person in recovery with someone they can relate to, New Roots works to restore a person’s lost confidence.
“When they start seeing us put into writing, like in a resume, or, see their progress, or we sit down with them and say, “Look, you were like this two months ago, look where you are today.’ And they see that progress, that’s what they need in the beginning [to succeed],” Scheitrum said.
While New Roots CRSs help people in recovery find the confidence to move onto the next chapter, Hope & Coffee gives people the career skills they need to take ownership of their lives.
“So, what we do is hire people in recovery. We try to normalize recovery in our community and eliminate the stigma against those with substance use disorder and those who are in recovery. And by that, I mean we kind of operate as just a normal shop. If anyone comes in, we don’t treat them any differently, they don’t treat us any differently.”
That’s David Hampson, manager of Hope & Coffee. He echoed Scheitrum, and said that the crux of recovery centers around proving to people that they can be more than their addiction.
“It’s mostly about seeing somebody start who’s early in their recovery, or any part in their recovery, and maybe anxious or depressed. And then [working] through that and [becoming] a great employee, and move on to other things,” Hampson said.
Recovery is an act of renewal – both for the person in recovery and for their loved ones.
However, Diane Rowland, Schuylkill County Prevention Program Supervisor for the county’s Mental Health, Developmental Services and Drug & Alcohol Programs, said that stigma only gets in the way of someone’s progress. The county held their own Narcan and fentanyl test strips distribution drive earlier that morning.
“With both addiction and suicide, there’s such a huge stigma that surrounds both issues. And honestly, there’s no room for that. People don’t need the stigma, they need our support, they need our help. Even if you don’t understand it, at least try to be neutral then, instead of being negative,” said Rowland.
While groups like Safer Streets and Hope & Coffee fight against stigma, addiction survivors and their loved ones say more work needs to be done to change the narrative about addiction. Rowland echoed that sentiment.
“No one ever sets out to become addicted to drugs, but it happens,” said Rowland.
Safer Street’s Tammy Sienkiewicz reminds people that Schuylkill County’s 505 flags, representing each life lost to substance use overdose over the last six years, are there for a reason.
“Substance use disorder doesn’t discriminate whatsoever. Park Avenue to a park bench, we always say. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t look at how much money you have, or what kind of house you have, or what kind of education you had,” Sienkiewicz said.
For recovery resources, reach out to Safer Streets and New Roots. Families and friends of those dealing with addiction can reach out to Nar-Anon’s Eastern Pennsylvania Region for support.
