Substance Free 02043 Kristen Arute

Rory and Chris Earley both grew up in homes with alcoholic parents. When they got married and started their own family, they thought about ways in which they would do things differently in raising their own children. Rory is sober, and Chris drinks on occasion. But it is more than just about examining their relationship with alcohol. "We're all about a boring household," says Chris. "It's a simple home. It's the healthiest environment that we can manufacture." Listen to Rory and Chris talk about their upbringings, the ways in which it impacted their lives and how they came together to create something new.

From a young age, Senator Patrick O'Connor has been passionate about public service, so it is only natural that he would serve his community as an elected official. For the past eight years, he has worked with his constituents and his colleagues on Beacon Hill to address various public health issues, like the opioid crisis. 

His experiences living and learning overseas guide his collaborative approach, and the people he has known who have struggled with the disease add an element of personal passion to the cause. Tune in to hear Sen. O'Connor talk about the legislative process and current efforts being made to combat substance use disorder.

Kathleen Mahoney has an enormous territory and a huge responsibility serving as a Nicotine Compliance Officer for several towns on the South Shore of Massachusetts. She must stay on top of state law and local regulations for each community and ensure that retailers are not in violation. One of her primary tasks is to make sure youth are not given access to age-restricted products. The landscape is constantly changing, and new products are regularly being introduced to the marketplace. Kathleen discusses changes she has seen, current trends and ways parents can keep their children safe around knock-off products.

In 2017, Hingham resident Lori McCarthy co-founded the Herren Wellness Center in Seekonk with acclaimed speaker and former basketball star Chris Herren. Both of them are in recovery from substance use, and their mission was to provide a holistic service that would positively impact the lives of individuals and their families. Lori talks about the process of getting the center opened, describes her own personal journey of recovery and stresses the importance of encouraging young people to abstain from using substances.

Roger Oser has been the principal of the William J. Ostiguy High School in Boston for the past 17 years, incorporating his extensive background working with youth to his role. Ostiguy High is a recovery high school that was founded by Willie Ostiguy, who is a previous guest on this podcast. The school provides a safe and supportive school environment for young people who want to make a positive change in their relationship with drugs and alcohol.


The school works closely with school districts to provide a variety of interventions for students who are struggling. The landscape of addiction is always changing, once it was opioids and now it is marijuana, but the need remains the same. Roger and the rest of the staff at Ostiguy High work hard to help young people achieve their goals and guide them on the right track for a bright and healthy future.

Chris Herren is known for playing in the NBA for teams like the Boston Celtics, but he was a basketball phenom starting at a young age. Chris broke records; he had a book written about him when he was just 16; and he attended Boston College on a full scholarship. However, all of that success was taken away by an addiction that plagued him from his teen years when he drank "the beer he never wanted" at 14 years old.


Drugs and alcohol threatened to destroy Chris' life and harm the ones he loved most. He said he worked really hard to keep his addiction a secret, and he would watch his kids play with toys on the floor while he "took a chance at dying every day." Eventually he realized that he had a problem that needed to be addressed. He sought treatment while his wife was pregnant with their third child and living on food stamps, and it was then that his life turned around.


Not only is Chris now a person who has successfully maintained his recovery for over 15 years, but he also speaks across the country to hundreds of schools each year and runs a program designed to prevent others from going down the same path of destruction. Herren Wellness has been open since 2018 and provides treatment for people battling addiction to drugs and alcohol. Their unique approach seeks to help people understand the "why" of their substance use so that they can fully address it in their lives. Tune into this honest and heartfelt interview.