 Well, turn on the news or open the newspaper. It almost seems like there are daily stories on the opiate epidemic in America. Clayton Castle tells us about one brainered man who was taking it upon himself to help those struggling with addiction. Reach out for help. This is not one that you're gonna beat on your own. Meet Sean Higgins. Sean is one of the many faces of overcoming adversity and addiction. As a former opioid addict, he can attest to the hardships of the disease. I'd gotten a prescription after an outpatient procedure and took some opiate pain medications, Vicodin, I think it was, and then it just kind of went from there. It didn't take off right away, but a few years later, that's when it really went crazy. As a pharmacist addicted to painkillers, he was fired twice for stealing painkillers. Finally, after the second time, he decided to seek help. I wanted to look for a specific treatment program that treated healthcare professionals, so that I would be with people that kind of understood exactly what was going on with me. He found that in the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Addiction Treatment Center in Center City. It was at Hazelden where he not only sought help for addiction, he developed a passion for helping others. Sean has completed master's studies at Hazelden and will soon be taking his licensing exam to become a licensed addiction counselor and he hopes to bring the knowledge and help back to brainered. And so I'll be looking for a mental health counseling position and along with a chemical dependency counseling position here in the area. That's kind of my plan. Now Sean will be completing his licensing exam later in the summer. As for how long he's been sober, it'll be six years on June 10th. Reporting in Brainard, Clayton Castle, Lakeland News. Mr. Higgins grad school at Hazelden is holding an open house tomorrow at 10 a.m. for other people interested in becoming an addiction counselor. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.