Gilford presents 'Anonymous People' drug documentary March 16

GILFORD — The third in a series of drug abuse prevention presentations will feature the film "Anonymous People," which is a documentary about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs.

The film will be aired on Thursday, March 16, at 6 p.m., at the Gilford Elementary School. This presentation is free of charge, and open to the public. Once again, the sponsors will be the Partnership for Public Health, the Gilford P.T.A., and Gilford Together.

The presentation will start with pizza and a veggie/fruit plate at 6 p.m., and will be followed at 6:30 p.m. by the 88-minute film. A panel discussion will follow and will include, among others, Judge James Carroll, Laconia District Court; Prosecutor James Sawyer, Laconia Police Department; and Lt. Kris Kelly, Gilford Police Department.

The theme of the film is that social stigma and discrimination have kept recovery people from publicly speaking out. The "vacuum created by this silence has been filled by sensational mass media depictions of people in active addiction that continue to perpetuate a lurid public fascination with the dysfunctional side of what is a preventable and treatable health condition." The sad reality is that most of the behavior leading to addictions started in the teenage years, generally two years before the problem was apparent. Early identification of this problem is essential.

The positive news is that there is now the emergence of grassroots recovery advocacy and support movements, which are bringing this problem out into the public view. With one out of 15 people living in recovery, the "anonymous people" are "laying it on the line to save the lives of others just like them."

On Tuesday, March 21, Gilford Together will also have its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room on the lower floor of the Gilford Community Church.

The next community presentation will be on Thursday, April 20, with Kathy Sullivan, a speaker for alcohol awareness, whose daughter died from alcohol abuse.

For further information, contact Kerri Lowe at klowe@PPHNH.org or Serene Eastman at serene.eastman@ doc.nh.gov.