 Chris Herren, an ex-Celtic who attended Durfee High
School in Fall River, Massachusetts, spoke to a standing
room only audience at the Teamsters Local 25 monthly
meeting on April 15, 2012.
This particular meeting had
an unusual audience—it
was made up of many children of the membership of Local
25. The children were there to hear Herren’s
message to stay away from drugs. After Herren’s
50-minute speech, where he paced back and forth recalling
his drug-filled rollercoaster ride as a Division 1
basketball star and promising NBA point guard, all
who heard him were thoroughly moved and shaken by his
personal life story.
“Chris Herren shared his life history with our
membership and their children and I want to thank him
for being so open and honest with the audience. Every
child in that room will think twice the next time someone
offers them drugs,” said Sean M. O’Brien,
President of Teamsters Local 25.
“Herren’s speech was riveting, my two
children sat in the audience mesmerized by his honesty
and candidness,” said Kris Crawford, a member
of Local 25 who works at Roadway.
Herren got to live out his
childhood dream — playing
basketball for the Boston Celtics. But his addiction
to cocaine, oxycodone and heroin torched his basketball
career and his home life, resulting in a near-fatal
overdose and, once, a brush with spending the rest
of his life in a Turkish prison. He’s been clean
since August 2008, and now spends his days training
young basketball players and sharing his story to teens
across the country with the goal of steering them away
from the devastating years he endured. Herren’s
story was featured in a 2011 ESPN documentary, “Unguarded,” and
he’s written a book about his life. He founded
the Herren Project in 2011, a non-profit foundation
established to assist individuals and families struggling
with addiction.
“I would like to thank President O’Brien
for allowing me to share my story with the membership
of Teamsters Local 25. It is never too late to follow
your dreams. It takes drive and follow through to make
your dreams become a reality,” Herren said.
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http://www.ahoopdream.com/
http://www.goprojectpurple.com
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