People are impacted by drug and alcohol addictions in various ways.

On Saturday, three people will share their personal stories of hope in words and one will share in song during the third annual Get Loud Now. The free family-friendly event is from noon to 3 p.m. at One Chamber Square in downtown Seymour.

Mike Collier will speak first. He’s now in recovery, said Heather Grube, a member of the Jackson County Drug-Free Council’s public awareness committee that’s helping organize the event.

"I knew him from years ago and kind of followed him on Facebook and watched his story unfold," she said. "It has been really refreshing to see him step out. He has been very vocal on Facebook about his whole process."

The Rev. Jeremy Myers of First Baptist Church in Seymour and Love Lockman will be the other speakers. Lockman’s son was a drug addict and earlier this year died of a heroin overdose.

Michael Tetrick of Edinburgh will perform songs and tell stories.

"He travels and ministers, and most of the songs he writes, he gives a story behind what they are, and a lot of them have to do with drug addiction," Grube said. "He will be kind of a different musical act in that sense since he’ll be talking and playing."

The Alley will have food available for purchase, tables will be set up with recovery-associated materials and there will be giveaways.

The first Get Loud Now was conducted in 2017. While attending the funeral of a friend’s brother who had overdosed on heroin, she watched a grandmother sob over the casket of a 19-year-old boy who didn’t have to die.

She said she went home and wound up in the bathroom sobbing, and she prayed and asked the Lord what could be done.

She then started conversations with people, saying nobody talks about the issue until someone dies, and then everybody wants to talk about the issue. She realized, "We need to get loud now, and we need to stay loud about it."

Grube said the Lord gave her the idea of people sharing their stories of hope onstage outside and passersby being transformed by hearing them.

The inaugural event featured people impacted by addictions in various ways sharing their stories. It had to be moved indoors because of the weather, but people still showed up. Grube joined one of the drug-free council’s action teams that night.

"Get Loud Now, for us, it has just been simply that — to get loud about the hope that is behind the recovery," she said. "It’s fun for us to get to share with people who are in the middle of that and have experienced it."

The committee hopes people hear the stories and music Saturday and are impacted.

"We hope that bystanders might walk by and hear something that they need to hear that they may not have been able to hear anywhere else because they might not step foot into a church or a rehabilitation type of setting," Grube said.

"They’ll walk down the streets down here, they hear something that piques their interest, they can sit from a distance and they can listen," she said. "Get Loud now is kind of that — people sharing their stories out loud in an outside setting so that people could be hidden but still listening."

The event also is a great opportunity for people interested in getting more involved in the recovery scene, Grube said.

"If there are people that are passionate about seeing change or just being able to feel like they are making an effort toward hopefully seeing that change, it’s a big problem in our county," she said. "This is just kind of my small contribution to hopefully seeing someone’s life transformed. There are a lot of opportunities to be involved. If you have any sort of passion or care, there’s a place for you."

Grube said she also hopes the event reduces the stigma of people battling addictions.

"There’s a real stigma that an addict is less than us, and realistically, their demons are just different," she said.

"Even if you’re not affected by drugs, you’re not affected by recovery, even if you are going, ‘Well, that doesn’t really affect me,’ it does affect you," she said. "This is a great way for you to come out and just to show your face and say, ‘Hey, you know what? I don’t know what you’re going through, I don’t know what you are experiencing, but I’m a friendly face, I’m here.’"

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What: Third annual Get Loud Now, organized by the Jackson County Drug-Free Council

When: Noon to 3 p.m. Saturday

Where: One Chamber Square in downtown Seymour

Who: The family-friendly event is open to all ages

Cost: Free

Details: Food, music, giveaways and stories of hope and recovery

Information: Find the event page on Facebook

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