12-Episode Documentary on Substance use to start this weekend

Voices of Hope: The Rugged Road to Recovery is a 12-episode documentary series featuring Maine residents recovering from substance use disorder (SUD). The first episode will air on WAGM-NBC on Friday night at 7:00 pm.

The documentary is a collaboration between Students Empowered to End Dependency (SEED) and the Scarborough Police Department. SEED is made up of students and advisors from 5 Maine High Schools. Gorham, Morse, Scarborough, Windham and Yarmouth High Schools work with SEED leadership to educate the public about substance use and abuse across the State.

We hear from real Maine people

Throughout the documentary you will hear from people who are currently in treatment, those who have recovered, and medical experts will explain the science behind substance use disorder. You will hear stories from Mainers that we can all relate to.

Just some of the goals of the series is to reduce the number of young people initiating substance use and to teach the science behind substance use disorder. The collaboration aims to ease the stigma on recovery and to gain support from the community for those recovering.

Watch a preview of the series below:

Ahead of the premier on Friday, the group released a trailer to give people an idea of what the documentary will look like. The Voices of Hope and Recovery website says that in 2020 there were over 500 fatal overdoses. A number that we all know is way too high.

It seems that over the past year substance use has become an increasing concern across Maine. If you or anybody you know is struggling with substance use give this series a watch. I would encourage anyone with teens in their households to tune in because the sooner we educate them, the better everyone will be in the long run.

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For those who would like more information check out Voices of Hope and Recovery

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.