Recovering addict gives back to the community
LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – Mayor Linda Gorton held a press conference on Wednesday to discuss the decline in overdose deaths in Fayette County.
Gorton says this decline is a step forward in the fight against opioid abuse.
Data shows deaths went from 177 in 2023 to 120 in 2024.
Several people from local programs spoke about the issue and the work that is being done.
Shawn McCarty, a former addict, also spoke about the work he has been doing since getting clean.
He had been an addict for many years.
“I got involved with addiction at an early age,” said McCarty. “Whole lot of treatment, whole lot of in and out of prison. Moved to Lexington in 2017 and it got real bad. I was homeless on these very streets.”
He went through several rehab treatments over the years, before going to the hope center and beginning his journey to recovery.
Something he didn’t think would ever happen for him.
“I seen it happen for other people. The disease had a job to do, the streets had a job to do to beat me down until I had no other place to look but up.”
Now McCarty works as a program coordinator for Tracy’s House, an addiction recovery center.
He says getting to help others gives meaning to everything he went through.
“It’s amazing to watch other people recover, because I can empathize with somebody. When they are scared to ask for help or they don’t know the next thing to do.”
For those who may be going through addiction, McCarty says help is available and to reach out.
He says if you do the work, “Your life will get so good, you won’t be able to comprehend it.”
