Source: Michigan Medicine Headlines
Overcoming addiction can be a long road. Filmmaker and Flint, Michigan native Mike Ramsdell shares the struggle and success of professional boxer Taylor Duerr in the We Can Be Heroes documentary at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at the Flint Institute of Music Capitol Theatre. The program will include experts from the U-M Addiction Center.
Ramsdell’s We Can Be Heroes documentary follows the story of Detroit’s own Taylor “Machine Gun” Duerr as he fights his way to a national boxing title inside the ring while fighting the demons of his addiction and his battle with recovery and stigma outside the ring. The free event starts at 5:30 p.m. with a recovery-related art show featuring local artists, followed by a screening of We Can Be Heroes at 7 p.m. There will then be a post-film panel discussion on addiction stigma moderated by Frederic C. Blow, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the U-M Addiction Center, Department of Psychiatry. Bobby Mukkamala, M.D., Duerr, and Ramsdell will be among the panelists.
Seats must be reserved in advance.
“Addiction doesn’t just impact the homeless and celebrities. It affects all members of a community. Stigma is the number one obstacle we face in treating this epidemic. By breaking down the walls of stigma through community dialogue, we know that those who need help are more likely to seek it, and those who can help are more likely to offer it,” said Ramsdell, who owns Under the Hood Productions in Flint.
We Can Be Heroes was executive produced by Flint’s Mukkamala, Flint native Gary Fisher, and nationally renowned Peter Berg of Chicago Hope and Friday Night Lights fame.
“I chair the pain care and substance use disorder task force at the American Medical Association where I serve as a board member,” said Mukkamala. “Last year we lost 107,000 people in the United States from this disorder. This is the highest number of deaths ever. The stats are much more meaningful when there are individual stories behind them. The more awareness people have, the better chance we have of improving.”
Reserve your seats online at tickets.thefim.org, at the FIM Ticket Center box offices at the FIM Whiting Auditorium or Capitol Theatre, or by calling 810-237-7333.
