September marks National Recovery Month, and to raise awareness about recovery and the effects of addiction the Tribune is in the middle of a three-part series.

Photographer Colleen Harrison has interviewed a half dozen area residents who are at different stages of recovery and who have been willing to share their stories about their roads to addiction and recovery.

We applaud their bravery in sharing their stories and for the success they have seen as they seek to help others along their journeys. We hope others can learn from their stories.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 23.5 million people age 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol abuse problem in 2009. That is 9.3 percent of people age 12 or older.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse states addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and those around him or her. It crosses all socio-economic boundaries.

Although the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, the brain changes that occur over time challenge an addicted person’s self-control and hamper his or her ability to resist intense impulses to take drugs, the institute states.

No single factor can predict whether a person will become addicted to drugs, but a person’s risk for addiction can be influenced by multiple factors, including biology, social environment and age or stage of development.

Don’t point fingers, and instead let’s open the dialogue about this debilitating disease in our community.

While addiction cannot be cured, it can be managed successfully. Be a part of the solution.