LEWISTON — Lewiston Public Library patrons and residents turned out Monday evening for “It Gripped My Life! Drug Use … Shortcut to Nowhere,” a panel discussion by local professionals on substance use disorder.

The Lewiston Youth Advisory Council hosted the discussion featuring guest speaker Sean Leclair and five panelists from Lewiston schools and the community: Abigail Reuscher, Lewiston High School forensic science teacher; Lisa Escobar, school substance use counselor; registered nurse Stephanie Harmon; and Ward 5 City Councilor Ryn Soule.

The council was inspired to launch the It Gripped My Life! project by their recently wrapped up Dream Project. The Dream Project aimed to engage local youth to focus on goal-making for their futures. The council decided that one of the biggest roadblocks to that end is drug use and its prevalence in the community, especially among young people.

Leclair was one of those young people. Trying his first pill at 16 years old, he joined in on a life already normalized by most of those around him. Now, soon to be celebrating seven years of sobriety, he reflected on years of substance use that was easily maintained by its prevalence and accessibility in his neighborhood and in school.

“At that time, I could never ever understand that I am and will be an addict,” Leclair said. “The people I looked up to sold drugs and were addicts, so at that point in my life, addiction felt as if it was normal. Friends and family were always in and out of jail, and the same for my role models. It gets to a point where you get numb to that bad feeling, you view it as normal because that’s how you grew up and you knew nothing different.”

Leclair said it didn’t stop until he was 24. He went from being an average kid playing high school basketball and running track to living paycheck to paycheck and selling drugs to feed his expensive habit.

“It goes to show how fast the path of your life can change … I turned from having a good future to being homeless and stealing from the people who meant the most to me just so I could make one more day through this addiction.”

Soule, liaison for council, is Leclair’s stepmother. She talked about the effects addiction has on families.

“Tough love,” is not easy, Soule said, as her well-adjusted family contended with Leclair’s struggle with addiction.

“Having an addict in your home is really difficult,” Soule said. “When it’s your child it’s even harder. I would say the hardest part is saying, ‘no’ … It put a strain on our relationship, but in the long run, it was worth it. I’m really proud.”

Kicking drugs meant letting go of friends and family still involved with drug use and understanding that many burned bridges won’t be salvaged even with change, Leclair said. The catalyst for his turn to sobriety was the birth of his daughter, he said. He tried desperately to persuade his daughter’s mother to join him in sobriety and recovery, but it didn’t work.

Now, Leclair has a 6-year-old daughter and another baby on the way and sobriety has made his life, and his family’s life, all the better.

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