The Carbon County Opiate Task Force held a special get-together for those affected by drug and alcohol addiction on Monday, offering "Hope for the Holidays."

The meeting featured members of the task force, Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission, local hospitals, churches, support groups, recovered addicts and families of those who suffered addiction who came together for education and encouragement in light of the holiday season."I'm glad everyone is here," Jamie Drake, executive director of the commission, said after the introductions. "Everyone has a place here. We welcome you, and in this room tonight there are a lot of resources, other people to talk to who know about support groups, who know how some of you have been feeling, because they've gone through it themselves."Attendees were provided with a packet of grief resources for the season, featuring tips and positive messages to help throughout the holidays.Jessica Hansen of PA Treatment and Healing introduced a fill-in-the-blank personal holiday plan, with topics including the most difficult parts of the holiday season, supportive people, grief triggers, helpful words and new traditions.Those who had lost a loved one to addiction, suffered through it themselves, or helped the afflicted through their profession heard each other out, answered questions, and offered support. The difficulty of the Christmas season hit home for many in the crowd."We can't put up the tree, because that's something we'd do together, so we had no tree for the last two years," Cindy Kester said in remembrance of her son, Lee.Joe Guardiani, who works on the administrative team at Blue Mountain Health System, followed up by thanking Cindy and her husband, Lonnie, for their efforts to educate the community on addiction and the resources through informative tear-off sheets that are displayed throughout the counties."Other people, I think, in our community, not unlike yourselves are now willing to come forward and talk about these very difficult issues," Guardiani said. "I just want to say how much I thank you for what you are doing in your own way."Family members of addicts were provided with realistic advice and support from those who had gone through the journey, encouraging them to seek out a variety of groups, express their pains and sorrows, and to always remember that someone is there to help.Lonnie Kester recounted his experience with Al-Anon, how he addressed his feelings of guilt for what transpired, and how much the group helped him work past it."I don't think you even have a stitch of a clue how much you've helped us already as an agency," Drake said. "By your willingness to tell your stories, to come and help out and volunteer, we have never had those kind of relationships in the past."Drake also thanked everyone for their donations and participation that have led to more activities, in addition to services for addicts in recovery, including toiletry bags and mores.The meeting concluded with somediscussion of strategies to combat addiction in the local community. The most stressed point revolved around being open and honest, changing the perception of the drug problem and focusing on proactive solutions."I think speaking out is number one," recovered addict Karalyn Dietrich said. "I think it helps other people, telling people that they're not alone, whether it's addicts or people that have lost a son or daughter. I think it's the most important thing, to get out and help people, not keeping it a secret."