GWINN, Mich. (WLUC) – As the opioid crisis continues, so must strategies to combat it.
Speaking with teens about opioid use can be tricky. However, a group from the University of Michigan tried to reach students at Gwinn High School in a unique way.
Since 2022, the University of Michigan’s School of Music program has been going to high schools across the state to present ‘Painless.’ On Tuesday, they made a stop in Gwinn.
“Every high schooler has been in that situation where you have some assembly, where some adults who don’t actually relate to you try and tell you what’s going on in your life, and the goal of this is to have people you can relate to understand and be the ones who are telling those stories,” said University of Michigan student and Actor Rhett Hemingway.
Jacob Ryan, a University of Michigan graduate, wrote this story after hearing firsthand accounts of addiction and recovery. Actor Aliyah Douglas says she hopes the musical will help save lives.
“I remember back in high school, something like this would have been really impactful for me because I wasn’t personally doing anything, but you see it everywhere, and if it isn’t opioids, it’s something else that’s dangerous,” Douglas said. “For example, now, they are lacing things with fentanyl, and that’s dangerous.”
The musical is part of a collaboration with OPEN, a drug prevention organization.
OPEN provides a wide variety of programs from safe disposal initiatives to educational courses and programming about drug prevention, treatment, and recovery.
Program Manager Ellie English says this musical is just a new approach to engage students.
“So, really trying to humanize the diseases of substance use disorder and letting people know that it’s a disease, not a moral failing,” English said. “So, it’s really just encouraging the sharing of these stories and helping them make informed decisions based on that,”
There will be another performance of the musical on Wednesday at the Forest Roberts Theatre at Northern Michigan University.
Story originally published on May 13 by Tristen Kendrick on Tv6.
