On Monday, KELOLAND News and the non-profit organization Face It Together teamed up to air an hour-long, prime-time special on alcohol and drug addiction. Since our broadcast, the phones have been ringing off the hook from viewers facing their own addictions looking to get help.
It's been one phone call after another at Face It Together's Sioux Falls office since our KELOLAND News special report.
"The documentary has completely and positively resonated with the community at large," community outreach manager Shelly Berg said.
Berg says the people who courageously shared their stories with our viewers about their own addictions were an eye opener.
"That reached so many people and so many families that are still at a point in their lives where they felt, maybe they were alone and through the power of this documentary, they realized they are not alone," Berg said.
It's estimated one out of every 10 people has an addiction and 90 percent of those don't seek help.
But Berg says through more public awareness programs like our special report, they think more and more people will recognize that drug and alcohol addictions are chronic diseases that are treatable.
"This disease does not discriminate. This disease happens to many, many individuals; many walks of life and I think that was really brought out into the open in the documentary and learned a lot about the people who shared their stories," Berg said.
Stories that were powerful, emotional and for some of the people who watched, unforgettable.
This week's special report also raised a lot of questions. On Sunday's Inside KELOLAND, we'll sit down with the man who founded Face It Together to answer those questions. We'll also talk to him about the organization's goals and accomplishments. That's Sunday night following the 10 o-clock news.
Comments