World Revival Outreach Center brings awareness to drug addiction with ‘Taking Our Community Back’

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, drug overdoses claim the lives of 394 people per year in Mississippi alone. Saturday, an effort was made in Picayune to bring awareness of this to the public.

After losing one of their own members a few months ago to drug overdose, the community at World Revival Outreach Center in Picayune knew something needed to be done.

“The Picayune area, and I know surrounding...there’s more drug-related situations than people advertise and talk about,” said WROC pastor David Meeks. “Every church, the schools. We know it’s out there, but it doesn’t get exposed enough. "

The event is called “Taking Our Community Back,” a day which is filled with music, testimonials, food and resources, such as faith-based drug addiction recovery group My New Life Now.

“We have weekly meetings, support groups, we do mentorship, one-on-one counseling, and we can help them go to a long-term facility if they need more than our program offers,” said My New Life Now leader Teresa Rouseneal. “We have two books that we teach out of to heal the reason why you used in the first place.”

Teresa became leader of the group because she is a survivor herself.

“I joined the program in 2015, straight out of jail, very deep in my addiction,” she explained. “The things that I’ve learned in this class have helped me completely restore my life.”

Although this is the first year for Taking Our Community Back, coordinators are hoping to make it annual to continue to help others recover.

To obtain a free Narcan kit to help save a life, visit odfree.org.

Click here to subscribe to WLOX News on YouTube: Keep up with South Mississippi news, sports, and local events on our YouTube channel!

Copyright 2023 WLOX. All rights reserved.