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Chris Herren Shares Story About His Life

Former high school and college basketball superstar Chris Herren, who played in the NBA for the Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics, visited Westminster Sept. 29 to share his story of struggling with substance abuse.
 
Chris, who has been sober for the last nine years, is the founder of The Herren Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing treatment navigation, educational and mentoring programs to those touched by addiction and to educate people of all ages on the dangers of substance abuse. He speaks to about 250 audiences each year, many of which are high school students. “I see it as a responsibility to present to a million kids,” he told members of the Westminster community who were assembled in Werner Centennial Center for his talk. “My story is not enough. If I can help one kid, it is worth it.” Chris used substances from age 14 to 32, overdosed four times and even contemplated suicide before seeking treatment.
 
He spoke about covering up his addiction from his parents because he did not want to let them down. “It never felt good to me on the inside, especially when I was being myself,” he said. “Everybody thinks this is about drugs and alcohol, but to me it is about self-confidence.”
 
He emphasized how the effects of substance abuse extend to family members and friends, and how he did not want to affect his three children. “The greatest accomplishment of my life is that I’m now the same father consistently,” he said.
 
After talking about peer pressures that can exist in high school, he encouraged students to surround themselves with people who will push them to be a little bit better. “You can overcome self-anxiety and not run away from it,” he said.
 
He concluded by saying, “I hope you walk away thinking this (talk) was something different from what you thought, and it was an assembly about me.”
 
T-shirts that support The Herren Project were on sale after his presentation.

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