South Hills residents organize concert to benefit Light of Life
If the nation’s opioid crisis has an epicenter, it’s right here.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that as of 2016, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania represented three of the top four states with the highest rates of death caused by drug overdoses.
“How do you wrap your mind around that?” Mt. Lebanon resident Karen Pesich asked.
She and some fellow South Hills residents might not have the answer, but they’re trying to combat the problem by financially supporting the Light of Life Rescue Mission in Pittsburgh’s North Side. They’ve organized a benefit concert from 6:30 to 11:15 p.m. March 24 at the Georgetown Centre, 526 E. Bruceton Road, Pleasant Hills, with Come Together performing.
“We consider them to be the region’s premier Beatles tribute band,” Pesich said, “and we’re grateful that they’ve donated their performance to this effort.”
“If we could stop, as a society, looking at addiction as a moral failing and understand the pathology of it, I don’t know if it would deter the numbers. But it certainly would help people recover.”
Veteran TV journalist Sally Wiggin will emcee the event, which also features raffles and other fundraising activities.
The volunteer organizers are a group of friends who have been affected by the menace of drug abuse, either directly or indirectly, and want to help make a difference.
“Addiction is a really unusual disease in that everybody around the addict can do nothing but pray and support their recovery,” Pesich explained. “You feel helpless otherwise. So we thought that the best way to impact this insidious epidemic that we’re facing is to raise funds and donate them to an organization that provides recovery services to our community.”
Light of Life Rescue Mission is a Christian nonprofit organization providing food and shelter for Pittsburgh’s poor and homeless, along with programs that include recovery from substance addiction and help for mental health issues.
For the March 24 event, the organizers are putting together a memorial wall featuring photos, names, relevant dates and other information about those who have lost their battles with addiction.
“And when you look at these pictures, it’s stunning,” Pesich said. “When you see a beautiful young woman in a very typical setting, and then you see her first and last name and the date on which she passed, that really brings into focus that this is no longer a problem that is inner-city, street-corner junkie. This is affecting our community.”
To help address the problem, she and her friends advocate a supportive approach toward those who are afflicted, rather than one that focuses on the criminal aspect.
“If we could stop, as a society, looking at addiction as a moral failing and understand the pathology of it, I don’t know if it would deter the numbers,” she said. “But it certainly would help people recover.”
Anyone who is interested in adding a name to the wall can contact Rachel Kaufman at rachelkaufman51@yahoo.com by March 15. Tickets to the March 24 event are $50 per person and are available at www.eventbrite.com/e/come-together-fight-addiction-tickets-42466647887.