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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, September 5, 2018
FACES OF NEWBURGH
Sean Tonner: the road to recovery
By KATELYN CORDERO
[email protected]
On a beautiful snowy night in South
Lake Tahoe, California, a man is pushed
out of a car at 10 mph. He should be in
a hospital receiving medical care, but
instead he wakes up on the snow covered
asphalt surrounded by EMTs.
The man laying on the ground overdosed
on heroin, his sixth and final time doing
so. Sean Tonner was a few months sober
when he woke up that morning, trying to
make some money buying heroin for a
friend, with no intention of using.
“Once I was inside the car, he pulled out
a fresh needle and asked me if I wanted
to get high,” said Tonner. “I folded right
away and I got high. I remember the blood
registering in the needle and me pushing
the heroin in.”
Tonner was pushed out of the car and
landed in the driveway of a recovering
drug addict, who happened to have a
Narcan kit. The intention was to bring
him to a friend’s house but instead he
was dumped off at the closest driveway,
for fear of getting in trouble at a hospital.
“That was God showing me there is a
reason for me to be on this planet and
it wasn’t to die on an overdose,” said
Tonner.
Narcan is an overdose reversal
medication administered to people who
have overdosed on opioids. At the time
Tonner overdosed, Narcan was not
common or as easy to find as it is today.
Pushing him into the wrong driveway was
a move that ended up saving Tonner’s life.
Today Tonner is working for the Hudson
Valley Community Services (HVCS) as
the syringe exchange navigator. He was a
Sean Tonner (right) comes to events with HVCS to tell his story in the hopes of inspiring
others in the community get the help they need.
part of the group that took nearly 37,000
syringes off the streets of Newburgh.
“The position is a bridge for me to serve
the community where it is needed,” said
Tonner. “I get to be part of the solution
where I was never part of the solution in
the past.”
Sitting with Tonner at Downing Park in
Newburgh, he will often get interrupted
by people passing by that he has helped
or is working with at HVCS. He greets
everyone with a warm smile and a positive
attitude.
Tonner did not start out in Newburgh
though, his addiction began in Pearl
River, NY, where he grew up. A place
where addiction and drug abuse is often
swept under the rug.
“I’d say I was 13 years old at the
beginning of my addictive tendencies,”
said Tonner. “I had a family that was
very involved but I was good at hiding
everything.”
Tonner became hooked on the high
when he was in his 20’s, he had a skiing
accident where he was prescribed
percocet. This was the beginning of his
downfall.
“I had this feeling of ‘wow, I’ve
arrived!”said Tonner. “After that it
became a necessity, I was always chasing
the feeling from that first high.”
For a while Tonner would fake injuries
to get his hands on different prescribed
drugs, when he ran out of options he
began purchasing on the street. He was
introduced to heroin by a friend at the
time who was dope sick, and asking for
a ride.
“I was given money from a friend to
drive to Westchester under the guise of
picking up marijuana,” said Tonner. “I
had a straw up my nose, within a week
that straw turned into a needle, that’s how
malicious and evil it is. Within six months
I was financially bankrupt, spiritually
bankrupt and emotionally bankrupt. The
things that used to matter didn’t so much
anymore.”
Tonner now works to clean up the
community through the syringe exchange
program at HCVS and works to get
recovering addicts in the community
the help they need when they are ready.
He serves as a link between recovering
addicts and the resources that can help to
make them better.
“I take ownership of everything I did,”
said Tonner. “Now I want to work to
change the stigma attached to addiction,
so people can get the help they need.”
To find out more information about
the Syringe Exchange Program Tonner
works with or the services provided
by HVCS you can visit their website at
hudsonvalleycs.org.
Firefighter’s Ball to raise funds and morale for city’s bravest
By SHANTAL RILEY
The First Annual Newburgh Firefighters’ Ball will
be held on Saturday, Sept. 15 at the Motorcyclepedia
Museum. The proceeds will go to benefit the Newburgh
Firefighters Benevolent Association.
“I wanted to create some conscious awareness and
gratitude for our firefighters and an awareness of what it
looks like to have a paid fire department,” said the ball’s
founder Angela Shapiro.
The event is being supported by Shapiro’s Furniture
and a host of local businesses including Jenny’s Floral
Design, Motorcyclepedia Museum, 2 Alices Coffee Lounge
and Blacc Vanilla.
Ball co-planner Chloe Schuyler said the fundraiser
was also planned to raise the morale of firefighters amid
layoffs and budget cuts. “All of these firefighters are so
passionate and caring for the community. They go in and
work selflessly,” said Schuyler, and their families make
sacrifices alongside them. “They risk their lives to keep
their city safe.”
The proceeds cannot be used to pay for firefighters’
salaries, she said, but will go to pay for equipment. This
will hopefully relieve some fiscal pressure on the city to
pay their salaries, she said. “Our goal is to make this an
annual event,” Schuyler explained.
The ball is being held following the layoffs of five
city firefighters in July. “The fact that business people
and the community are willing to support us is pretty
overwhelming,” said city Acting Fire Chief Terry Ahlers.
The ball will feature dinner, music, dancing, live and
silent auctions. Performers include Decora and DJ H2O.
Tickets are $50 per person. Cocktail attire is requested.
The Firefighters’ Ball takes place at 6 p.m. on Saturday,
Sept. 15 at the Motorcyclepedia Museum, located at 250
Lake Street in the City of Newburgh. For more information,
go to Eventbrite.com, visit Newburgh Firefighters’ Ball
on Facebook or email Newburghfirefightersball@gmail.
com.