LEARNING THE ART WAY –

March 16, 2023 – All eyes were on performances of the UPJ Dance Ensemble, UPJ Theater Club and UPJ Black Action Society members in the Cambria Room of the Student Union.

In the back of the room, informational resources for local recovery centers and counseling services were available.

The event was organized by UPJ student Fiona Knoster, who gave opening remarks, but the featured speaker was Miss Pennsylvania Alysa Bainbridge.

“’What can this girl with a crown on her head have to say about addiction?’” Bainbridge said, anticipating the crowd’s thoughts. “I love to break down that stigma. Mental illness can happen to any family.”

Those in attendance became tearful as Bainbridge shared the story of how her brother struggled with undiagnosed depression from a young age and developed an opioid addiction later in life that led to his death.

She shared with the crowd that people would tell him that he was no more than an addict who used mental illness as an excuse to use drugs.

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