Changing the Conversation about Drug Addiction

In 2018, Theresa Clower's son, Devin, passed away from a drug overdose. To work through her grief, Theresa took up portrait work and started drawing her son's portrait. After completing Devin’s portrait, she was inspired to find others who lived and died like her son. Theresa then founded the INTO LIGHT project, an exhibition that puts a human face on the disease of addiction through hand-drawn portraits and written narratives.

Theresa joins the podcast, along with Barbara Francois, INTO LIGHT Project Assistant Director and Narrative Writer, to talk more about the project and changing the conversation about drug addiction.

The California INTO LIGHT project exhibition, sponsored by DBH, is on display in the Anthropology Museum at California State University, San Bernardino through June 10, 2023. For more information, visit https://intolightproject.org/.

For more information about San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health’s Substance Use Disorder Services, visit https://wp.sbcounty.gov/dbh/sudrs/ or call the 24-Hour Substance Use Disorder Helpline at [phone]. 

For more information about the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, visit SBCounty.gov/DBH.