Pender Co. woman educates her community on drug abuse

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Cheryl Groves, a mother of an addict is taking drug addiction into her own hands.

Today she organized a forum on the impact drugs have on communities.

“If it only impacts one person, one person’s life and they go and get help, every bit of it’s worth it to me. One life is precious, it matters,” Groves said.

Groves said by connecting the community and educating people about drug addiction, it can make a major impact.

“We need people, we need boots on the ground people in our community, that’s what a community is, people helping each other,” Groves said.

Groves nine-year-old daughter, Allyson Groves, wanted to help her mom by sharing her own message.

“Don’t use drugs, they are bad for you and your body,” Allyson said.

Back in 2013, Groves’s other daughter overdosed and it changed her entire life.

“When my sister’s on drugs, it always made me upset and angry and it always made me feel like it was my fault,”Allyson said.

Groves believes with the right tools, addiction is fixable and she wants to share a message of hope throughout her community.

“I mean were never going to completely get rid of drugs, but we can make a big powerful difference if we just have a community come together,” Groves said.