On August 30, 2025, just one day before International Overdose Awareness Day, our community gathered at St. Alban’s Anglican Church in Richmond for an afternoon of truth telling, listening, and healing. This was not just an event. It was a reckoning. A space where stories were shared not to be judged but to be witnessed. Where pain was not hidden but honored. And where the walls of stigma began to crack under the weight of truth and compassion.

Harm Reduction Is a Form of Love

Heather Tunold’s workshop reminded us that harm reduction is not about lowering expectations. It is about raising our capacity to love. It is about showing up for people exactly where they are without waiting for them to get better first. Heather challenged us to move from awareness to action, to recognize that compassion is not passive. It is a verb. Her words echoed the heart of the gospel. People should be loved regardless of where they are in their journey of recovery. That kind of love does not fix. It accompanies.

Stories That Break the Silence

The panel was a sacred moment. Each voice carried grief, resilience, and a fierce kind of hope. These were not abstract stories. They were lived realities. Many who use substances come from broken families, carry deep trauma, and live with mental health challenges. For some, substance use becomes a way to fight through pain in a world that has not always offered safety or care. Their stories are not all the same, but they all deserve to be heard without judgment.

And yet, stigma persists. Even in the presence of truth. Even when compassion is within reach. Why?

Because stigma is not always loud. It is subtle, often unconscious. People may not realize they carry it, or may not admit they do. It can be rooted in fear, shame, or the need to feel morally superior. But when someone listens with compassion, truly listens, it becomes harder to hold onto those judgments. Firsthand stories have the power to move us if we let them. If we have the courage to be present with another’s pain, we cannot remain unchanged.

The panel reminded us that every person has autonomy and dignity, including those who use substances. They are the experts of their own lives. Our role is not to fix but to walk alongside. To respect their pace, their choices, and their truth. That is what it means to honor autonomy. That is what it means to love without condition.

Garth Mullins: Pain, Truth, and the Power of Words

Garth Mullins closed the day with a keynote that was both fierce and tender. He read passages from his book Crackdown, sharing his personal journey through addiction and recovery, not in sensational terms but with emotional honesty and clarity. His words described heroin not as destruction but as relief. As salvation in a world that had denied him peace, safety, and self acceptance.

“Heroin was forgiveness. It was love. All the pain and tension melted away… I wasn’t getting high. I was passing through a golden gate to a calm, protected place.”

Garth’s story was not glorifying heroin. It was helping us understand what it meant to him in a world that made no space for his pain. His courage to speak openly about trauma, shame, and survival touched many of us deeply. It demanded that we pause. That we not rush to judge or analyze. That we listen.

His story echoed the wisdom of Dr. Gabor Maté, who reminds us in In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts:

“The question is not why the addiction, but why the pain.”

That shift in perspective changes everything. It invites us to see addiction not as a moral failure but as a response to suffering. It asks us to look deeper, not at the substance but at the wound. And it calls us to respond not with punishment but with care.

Garth’s message was clear. Remembrance must lead to resistance. We honor those we have lost not just with candles but with advocacy. Not just with tears but with change.

This gathering was a reminder that compassion is not a feeling. It is a force. It dismantles stigma. It opens hearts. And it builds a community where healing is possible, autonomy is respected, and every story matters.

As we carry this spirit forward, I am excited to announce our next initiative: Recovery Support. This project will continue the work of walking alongside those navigating substance use and recovery, offering practical help, emotional presence, and spiritual care.

Recovery Support is one of three core areas of community engagement through 360 Community. We also welcome volunteers and advocates for:

• Homeless Outreach, where we meet people where they are with dignity and care
• SOGI Inclusion, where we build spaces of belonging for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities

And if you are seeking to learn and follow the way of Jesus Christ, you are warmly invited to join our discipleship journey. Our path of discipleship is not just about personal growth. It leads us outward into the world to serve. It is through following Christ that we are equipped and compelled to love our neighbors in tangible ways.

If any of these call to your heart, I invite you to sign up and get involved with 360 Community. I am confident that through these works, you will begin to see life differently. You will be transformed—not only by what you give, but by what you receive.

Please share this message with your friends, family, and networks. Promote it in your circles. Invite others to read, reflect, and sign up. The more hearts we gather, the more healing we can offer. Let us keep going.

Let me know if you’d like help turning this into a shareable email, flyer, or social media post. I can help you spread the word with clarity and heart.