By Sal Giarratani
MICHAEL’S MISSION TURNS INTO MISSION POSSIBLE
Everyday four people die in Massachusetts from heroin overdoses. On July 2, 2015, Michael Cain was one of those four a day. Young Michael had just celebrated his 24th birthday on June 18. Michael was one of 1,526 people who lost their lives to heroin in 2015.
On Saturday night, July 2, the Knights of Columbus Hall was packed with Michael’s family and friends. They came to not only remember somebody who they knew or grew up with. They came to give support to his family left behind in their pain. They also came to offer others who are fighting the struggle too.Recovering from opioid addiction is no easy task.
Michael›s dad Smokey wanted to do something in the wake of his son›s death. Last December the Cain family made donations to the Charlestown Recovery House but Smokey wanted to do more. He wanted help those in the struggle for their very lives.
The Michael’s Mission fundraiser at the Knights will hopefully become an annual tradition in Charlestown. It hopefully will be a way of remembering a young man who died too soon and a way of helping all the other Michaels out there still in deep pain.
Many at this event were old pals of Michael. Some of them were struggling along with him. They are still here and, I believe, that Michael’s Mission can be a living legacy helping those still to be saved and those still in pain.
All the donations raised went directly to the Charlestown Recovery House, Charlestown Youth Football and the cheerleading league.
Smokey Cain knows where there’s smoke there’s fire. He’s trying in his own way to put out the fire that is killing so many of our young people.
Michael’s Mission can become Mission Possible but only if we all stop and think about the pain Michael and so many others suffer. It can become Mission Possible if we all work together in this battle to bring lives back to life.