ALBANY, N.Y. — The opioid crisis clawing through New York’s Hudson Valley isn’t slowing down, but one man’s harrowing survival story is now being weaponized against it. On January 18, at 7 PM, Hudson Valley Community College will host a no-holds-barred anti-heroin event, spotlighting the raw reality of opiate addiction through a film screening and a gut-wrenching personal testimony from Eric Dyer — a former law student turned addict who lived to tell the tale.
The night kicks off with a screening of ‘Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict,’ a documentary produced by the FBI and DEA that lays bare the wreckage left by heroin and prescription opioids. Through unflinching interviews with users and grieving families, the film drives home a single message: addiction doesn’t discriminate, and death is always one hit away. But the real punch comes after — when Eric Dyer steps to the mic and recounts how pills he took to cope with academic stress spiraled into full-blown opiate dependency during his time in the Capital Region’s college circuit.
United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian, who helped organize the event alongside four local coalitions, made it clear: enforcement alone won’t stop this epidemic. “The heroin and prescription opioid epidemic is a crisis that reaches every corner of our communities,” Hartunian said. “The best protection of public health and safety is in prevention and education.” His office is betting that hearing Dyer’s first-hand account — from classroom to chaos to recovery — will hit harder than any federal indictment.
The Rensselaer County Heroin Coalition, NOPIATES, Troy Drug Free Community Coalition, and RADAR are all united in this push. Maryfran Wachunas, Co-Chairperson and Rensselaer Public Health Director, stressed the need for a coordinated front: “Working together as a team and sharing each other’s knowledge, we are taking a multi-step approach at not only educating ourselves but the entire coalition and community as a whole.”
Kim and Tim Murdick, founders of NOPIATES, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing their mission to connect struggling individuals with resources while honoring those already lost. Davia Collington of the Troy DFCC warned that even though most youth remain substance-free, the threat is real and rising. “It will take all sectors of the community to protect our youth from the disease of addiction,” she said.
At the core of the message is a simple truth: recovery is possible, but only if people know where to turn. As Nancy Hardt, chairperson of RADAR, put it: “It takes a village to raise a child” — and a whole damn army to pull someone back from the edge of an opiate overdose. The event isn’t just awareness — it’s a frontline defense.”}
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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