By Carly Flahive and Jeff Arnold

In 2013, Westborough High School welcomed former NBA player Chris Herren to discuss his struggles with addiction. As part of an ongoing response to Herren’s powerful presentation about the impacts of drug and alcohol abuse on young adults, WHS is partaking in Project Purple from January 22-29. By participating in this program, the school hopes to spread awareness for the Project Purple cause.

Inspired by a young girl who had the courage to stand up and ask a question in front of her entire school, Herren decided to take part in Project Purple as part of The Herren Project. Encouraging students to stand up for what they believe and realizing they don’t need drugs and alcohol to surpass the challenges that students are faced with, Herren travels to schools to share his story and the struggles that he has learned to cope with.

Although Project Purple is designed to eliminate the stigma of addiction, it also is about advocacy when faced with adversity. By bringing Project Purple to WHS, the Lobby Observer staff is hoping to empower students to be confident in both the decisions they make and themselves.