As a bouncy house jiggled to one side of her, volunteers painted faces behind her and dance music wafted all around, Sarah Crane talked about the importance to her of community.

Crane, 44, has struggled with addiction since her teen years but has been in a residential treatment program now for four months and is hopeful about her future. She volunteered Saturday at the Rally 4 Recovery in Portland’s Payson Park largely because she’s thankful to be part of the area’s large and energetic recovery community.

“I have struggled so long, and I know I can’t really do this on my own,” said Crane, originally of Owls Head.  “There is such a great recovery community here.”

Hundreds of people gathered in 80-degree heat at Payson Park on Saturday for the 10th annual Rally 4 Recovery, organized by Portland Recovery Community Center.  The event featured kids crafts, food trucks, face-painting, a DJ and other entertainment. It also featured more than 50 organizations and businesses set up in tents to offer resources and help to people who might not know where else to look for it.

There were guest speakers throughout the day who spoke about available resources and shared stories, plus a “recovery countdown” where people publicly listed the length of time – days, weeks, years – they’ve been in recovery, to cheers from the crowd.

“The reason for this is to show people recovery is real and possible, by sharing the visuals of others going through it, to give people hope for themselves,” said Leslie Clark, executive director of Portland Recovery Community Center, located on Bishop Street.

The rally and public events like it also help to break down the stigma and stereotypes that have long been an obstacle to people struggling with the illness of addiction.

“We’re breaking new ground with kids, kids who are proud of their parents in recovery,” Clark said. “Hopefully, we’re teaching these kids the importance of prevention.”

The rally was held at a time when support services for people struggling with addiction have increased in recent years, yet Maine is still experiencing near-record levels of fatal overdoses as lethal drugs such as fentanyl remain widely available.

Gordon Smith, the state’s director of opioid response, spoke to the group about the increase in money and resources during the administration of Gov. Janet Mills, but said that more is needed and more is coming.

Overdose deaths in Maine set a record for the third straight year in 2022, claiming an estimated 716 lives even as access to treatment and the overdose-reversing drug naloxone has increased. A total of 366 people died of overdoses in Maine between Jan. 1 and July 31 this year, which is down from 397 during the same period last year.

Matthew Lee, a southern Maine-based manager for the organization Groups Recover Together, said he thinks more attention needs to be paid to how people become addicted, to attack the problem at the source of it.

“I don’t hear many people who say, ‘I wanted to start taking drugs.’ Many start because they got them from a legitimate health care provider,” Lee said. “The money being spent is working to help people, but we have to figure out what to do about the source.”

Portland Recovery Community Center, which hosted the event, provides support, education, resources and advocacy for people recovering from or affected by addiction. For more information about what the organization offers, go to portlandrecovery.org.

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