ISSUED: 12 September 2018
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University is hosting a screening of the documentary “Recovery Boys” on Thursday, September 20, at 6 p.m. in the Storer Ballroom, followed by a panel discussion. The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Department of Sociology and Geography, Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education, and Shepherd University Lifelong Learning Program, in conjunction with West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
“Recovery Boys” is the latest documentary film by director Elaine McMillion Sheldon, who received an Academy Award nomination for the documentary “Heroin(e).” “Recovery Boys” follows four young men in a farming-based rehab who forge a bond as they try to reinvent their lives after years of addiction.
The post-film discussion will be led by Suzanne Higgins, executive producer for West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB). Higgins is a regional Edward R. Murrow Award winner who is currently project manager for the WVPB’s focus on the state’s opioid crisis, with an emphasis on the many issues surrounding recovery.
Those participating in the discussion will include Kevin Knowles, Berkeley County recovery coordinator; Dr. Chess Yellott, a physician who has been treating patients with addictions for 25 years; Dr. John Aldis, the first medical provider to make naloxone (Narcan) available to people through West Virginia’s take-home naloxone program and who specializes in medication-based opioid addiction treatment; and representatives of The Hope Dealer Project, an Eastern Panhandle nonprofit organization that was founded in 2015 to provide recovery resources, encouragement and support, and communication and facilitation with the detox and rehabilitation centers to those struggling with addiction.
For more information, contact Karen Rice, lifelong learning director, at 304-876-5135 or krice@shepherd.edu; or Dr. Chiquita Howard-Bostic, chair, Department of Sociology and Geography, at 304-876-5241 or chowardb@shepherd.edu. To reserve a seat, contact Jody Brumage, Byrd Center office manager, at 304-876-5648 or jbrumage@shepherd.edu.
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