Fighting the stigma around drug addiction was the message being sent Saturday morning at Lacombe City Cinemas.

Promoting Red Deer Recovery Day, residents had the chance to attend a fundraiser and movie screening called the Anonymous People, a film celebrating those who have recovered from drug addiction.

With the world in the midst of an opiod crisis, event organizer Krista Black said there is no better time for people to open up and share their stories.

As someone who has been sober for 10 years, after a fight with drug addiction, Black said there are changes that need to be made.

“We like to advocate and hopefully see some changes in our society about reducing the stigma, we would like to see people not have extreme wait times for treatment, we would like to see a bunch of these changes happen.”

As a person in long-term recovery, Black said she understands how alone a drug addict can feel when battling the disease.

“Addicts feel like they’re not heard, unimportant and they don’t stand up for themselves. Somebody has to advocate so that change can happen. There’s a whole lot going on for advocating for mental health and making changes there and addictions should be included in that.”

The Red Deer's Recovery Day group are holding their 4th annual Recovery Day on September 9th from 11-2 at Red Deer City Hall Park to celebrate recovery and provide information to those who have been affected by addiction.