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Health & Fitness

Former Celtics Player Shares His Story at SRVTHS

On Friday morning, November 1st, juniors and seniors gathered in the new gymnasium to view “Hoop Dreams”, a film about former NBA star and Boston Celtics’ Chris Herren’s personal journey from high school student to “basketball junkie”. A personal appearance by Mr. Herren followed, during which he continued the story and fielded students’ questions. 

Chris recalled his own high school days at Durfee in Fall River, and how he regarded similar substance abuse prevention assemblies as a waste of time. “I’ll never be a drug addict” he thought. “All I’ll ever do is drink and smoke on weekends.” But 90% of addicts began at the high school level. “Weed and alcohol are gateway drugs. I never met one drug addict who started with a needle. They all start off with drinking beers and smoking marijuana. And I never met anyone who said ‘I can’t wait to stick a needle in my arm.’” 

At the age of 18, Chris began taking cocaine, which he said “opened doors I was not able to close for the next 15 years.” Already a local basketball star, his lifetime goal was to play for the Celtics, but once it was achieved, his focus shifted to how to satisfy his addiction. Chris’ whole family was affected, as he spent all his and his wife’s money, even pawning his kids’ toys for drug money. 

“At 32 years old, I became the guy I never wanted to become. That’s the power of addiction.” In June of 2008, Chris crashed into a pole after overdosing, experiencing clinical death for 30 seconds. Once resuscitated, he was cuffed and arrested.  

Over five years after a long battle and several courses of treatment at rehab, Chris is still proud to be drug and alcohol free. Working as a basketball coach and impact speaker, Mr. Herren seeks to break the stigma of addiction, bring awareness of the dangers of substance abuse and light the way towards getting help. 

Students were left with heartfelt advice and encouragement: “You kids have a goal, mission and a direction being in a vocational school. Don’t throw it all away. If you can be yourself 24/7, there’s no need for the blunts, no need for the beer…..The kids who got through high school without drinks and drugs are my heroes. I want my kids to be those kids. They can be themselves 24/7. If you are that kid, thank you for doing what I couldn’t.” 

It was clear to anyone in attendance that the students were moved by the presentation. “I really thought both the boys and the girls got a lot out of the assembly” noted Christina Guarini, Director of Guidance. “High school students will make a lot of decisions, some good and some poor, we know this with certainty. However, choosing drugs can be life altering. It is too big of a consequence to pay for innocent curiosity. We would rather they avoid that pitfall and carry on with the many other challenges teenagers face, without adding this horrific lifestyle that can affect them and their families forever.”  

Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School is a public 9-12 vocational high school located in South Easton, Massachusetts, serving approximately 1,277 students from the city of Brockton and the towns of East Bridgewater, Easton, Foxborough, Mansfield, Norton, Sharon, Stoughton, and West Bridgewater.

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