This Army’s Mission Battles Drug Abuse

SURRENDER TO WIN –

March 31, 2022 – It was then that Jones, an Army combat veteran who served in Iraq in 2004-05, turned to a different kind of army — Sage’s Army.

Jones, a Donora resident, is now a certified recovery specialist with Hempfield-based Sage’s Army, helping those deal with and recover from the addiction he struggled with.

“Whatever keeps the needle out of your arm and bottle out of your mouth, we support it,” Jones told more than 100 people who had gathered at the Westmoreland County Community College campus near Youngwood to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Sage’s Army.

“We are 110% invested in our peers,” Jones said, referring to those who seek help through a variety of programs.

Sage’s Army, an initiative to raise awareness of drug addiction and help those seeking recovery, was created in the aftermath of the overdose death of 20-year-old Sage Capozzi in a Hempfield motel. From that tragedy, his father, Carmen, founded Sage’s Army to help those in the throes of drug dependency, as well as their families.

As he looked around a room full of more than 100 supporters of Sage’s Army on Wednesday, Capozzi said he “never thought it would be 10 years later and the need is still here.”

“The families are still coming into Sage’s Army, seeking help,” Capozzi said. “Look at the statistics.”

Westmoreland County had a 30% spike in fatal drug overdoses last year, compared with 2020.

The spike may be caused, in part, by the covid-19 pandemic, when people were restricted in what they could do, in addition to the stresses related to covid and possible job loss, said Tim Phillips, executive director of the Westmoreland Drug Overdose Task Force.