Up to 150 people showed up to learn about paths to recovery over addiction and partake in youth-friendly activities in the parking lot of Warwick Mall on Friday during the closing ceremony of the Rally 4 Recovery RI, a series of gatherings intended to spark honest discussions about addiction and aid those seeking help from their affliction.

Hosted by Rally 4 Recovery and led by president George O’Toole, a recovered addict and case manager at Anchor Recovery Community Center in Pawtucket, the closing ceremony featured over 20 providers of addiction-related and health-related services and saw powerful testimonies from those who have seen first-hand what addiction can do to destroy lives.

The event was attended by Mayor Joseph Solomon, Ward 6 Councilwoman Donna Travis, members of the Warwick Police Department – including mental health liaison Maureen Gouveia – as well as Rebecca Boss, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals; Tom Coderre, Senior Advisor to Governor Gina M. Raimondo; recovering addict Abbie Stenburg; and Elyse Reynolds, who lost two children to overdoses. The Every Student Initiative, from Portsmouth, also performed a demonstrative piece about the importance of considering mental health.

According to O’Toole, while he hopes to increase attendance numbers in the future, the event achieved its purpose of acting as a resource to younger people in regards to addiction and mental health issues.

“It’s about getting to the younger generation and telling them it’s okay to come out and talk about it,” he said. “I think we could have done better but it was a good start.”

O’Toole was exceedingly grateful to the Warwick Police Department for their assistance with the event, as well as to Aram Garabedian, president of Bliss Properties, which owns the Warwick Mall, for providing the space to gather at no cost.