PINE GROVE - Students at the Pine Grove Area School District heard the truth about addiction Thursday.
Schuylkill County native Tim Rader returned to the area Thursday to tell his story of addiction through his "Live to Tell" presentation for junior high school students at the high school auditorium.
"If you ask me why I do this, I would tell you I have to. I have to come and tell you the truth," Rader said during the presentation. "Maybe some of the adults don't want to tell you the truth, but the truth is more horrible than they can imagine."
Rader is a graduate of Cardinal Brennan High School and DeSales University with a bachelors degree in human services. He now lives in Baltimore, Md., with is wife, Melissa.
Rader has been involved in the field of prevention as a state-wide trainer and public speaker for the state Liquor Control Board. He works for the Caron Foundation, a drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation center located at a 110-acre facility in Wernersville with other locations in New York, Plymouth Meeting, Boca Raton, Fla., and Bermuda.
"Addiction is a very complicated subject and for their age group to grasp it, it needs to be told in a way they understand," Rader said. "I put a face on it and they can relate. They also appreciate the non-lecture format of the assembly."
Rader's story begins in high school. As a promising quarterback his senior year, he was looking to play at the college level when he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. In constant pain from the side effects of chemotherapy and treatment, he was prescribed pain relief medication.
Rader said he went on to use drugs recreationally in college and experienced the loss of three friends due to accidental overdoses. Despite leaving drugs behind after college, Rader said his addiction brought him back to pain pills and he eventually lost his job, his fiancee and his home.
After seeking help through drug rehabilitation, Rader said he turned his life around and he now tells his cautionary tale to students.
"I always thought I would get in trouble if I asked for help, little did I know that you would get more hugs than ever before," he said. "How could you get in trouble for asking for help? Addiction doesn't want you to ask for help, it wants you to do exactly what I did."
Rader said schools do a good job of getting the information to students, but it can be difficult to get them to care.
"What I try to do is initiate the motivation to use that information in the real world," Rader said.
Feedback has been positive. Rader said students often reach out to him through email and Facebook asking for help.
Students Against Destructive Decisions hosted the event.
Rhonda Culbert, SADD advisor at the school, said Rader has been at the school before and the assembly Thursday was for the students in grades seven through 10, who haven't seen the presentation yet.
"He keeps coming back because he is really relatable to the kids," Culbert said Thursday.
In addition to being at Pine Grove High School a few years ago, Rader has also been at other schools in the county including Pottsville and Minersville.
For more information about Rader, visit his website at www.timrader.org or find him on Facebook.