On Saturday, Feb. 8, a special walk will be held to bring awareness to the battle of addiction, a fight April Prine knows all too well.
Prine on Feb. 25 will be celebrating one year being clean and sober and wants to give back to the community. From her battle with addiction, she wants to bring focus to the seriousness of addiction and also to show hope in and through the battle to sobriety.
Lining up for the walk will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Marion County Courthouse. The walk will begin at 10 a.m. and continue down Broad Street to the City Park. At the park will be a balloon release in memory of those who have lost the battle to addiction.
Prine said it is important people understand addiction. A lot of addicts are unable to get to the root of their problems but only recognize there is pain and use different substances to cover the pain, she said. People who are not dealing with addictions can sometimes look down on an addict because they do not understand what that person is going through. Prine said when that happens, it can drive an addict further into their addiction.
She hopes to change that and make people understand addiction is a vicious cycle, but one that can be broken, she said, through love, support and recognizing it is a daily fight for the better.
There will be T-shirts for sale for $20. The proceeds will go the Columbia Police Department’s Mercy Project. The deadline to order a T-shirt is Feb. 3.
“We appreciate her heart to see those in need get the help they need. The Mercy Project is a program that helps addicts in their battle with addiction and works toward recovery,” Columbia Police Chief Michael Kelly said.
If an addict has had enough and is ready to get help, he or she can report to the police station without risk of being arrested and seek help. The department has trained individuals who are able to help by locating available programs to meet the needs of the individual and will follow the individual throughout the program.
For more information, call Prine at (601) 674-1566.
