Filmmakers Move on to Advocacy Work for Those in Treatment

CCB MEDIA PHOTO Nate Robertson and Sam Tarplin of Falmouth made the film "What Happened Here: The Untold Story of the Addiction Crisis on Cape Cod."

CCB MEDIA PHOTO
Nate Robertson and Sam Tarplin of Falmouth made the film “What Happened Here: The Untold Story of the Addiction Crisis on Cape Cod.”

HYANNIS – Two young men who made a film about addiction on Cape Cod have started an advocacy group for people who are in recovery for addiction. They want people in recovery to be part of the efforts to find a solution to the region’s substance abuse crisis.

Sam Tarplin’s film “What Happened Here: The Untold Story of Addiction on Cape Cod” was released last year. The documentary that tells the story of the region’s opiate addiction problem through the stories of recovering addicts continues to be screened around Cape Cod.

Nate Robertson, who served as producer on the film, said the two have started a new group called the Recovering Youth Coalition to bring together those who are in recovery and who want to be involved in helping to find solutions to the addiction problem in the region.

“We have all these differnet commissions on Cape Cod. Even the governor started his new commission to talk about substance abuse. These are all great. But what’s amazing going to these things is this total lack of a voice from the recovery community,” Robertson said.

Moving into advocacy was a natural step about making the film.

“The film was kind of the awareness step to bring more of a public awareness and to enter into the dialogue, so we could talk about it. And the next step was really to advocate for ourselves,” Robertson said.

Robertson said the recovery community can be an important part of the effort to find solutions.

“We need to talk to the people who have been through the system, who are working with the system currently, people who are in recovery, who have substance abuse disorders,” he said. “If we’re gong to have any change, we need to incorporate that voice.”

The coalition meets the third Wednesday of the month at the Aids Support Group of Cape Cod offices in Hyannis.

Listen below as Nate Robertson and Sam Tarplin talk about the documentary and their new advocacy group.



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