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Paul Reinhardt founded the New Canaan Parent Support Group in 2016, one year after losing his son Evan to a heroin overdose at age 24. His goal was straightforward: to give parents of loved ones struggling with addiction a safe, confidential place to share what they were going through, so no one had to face it alone.
The following year, in August 2017, he held the first Community Addiction Awareness Vigil in downtown New Canaan. He had no idea what to expect. Then 400 people showed up.
“We weren’t really doing that great of a job of marketing,” Reinhardt recalled. “We had a lot to learn. But people came out. 400 people was amazing back then.”
This year, on Sept. 1 at Elm Street and South Avenue in downtown New Canaan, 750 people are expected for the 10th annual vigil.
The vigil brings the community together each year for an evening of live music, personal testimony from people in recovery, a candlelight ceremony and a shared community pledge. It is free and open to everyone, and draws not just those personally affected by addiction, but neighbors, community members and concerned citizens who want to show up and stand alongside those who are struggling.
Reinhardt paused when asked how it feels to reach this milestone.
“When I stand up at the beginning of the vigil and see all these people, many people in recovery, many people from different provider and therapist organizations, all these parents, all these young people that may actually be contemplating whether they should reach out for help,” he said. “All these feelings will well up, including the fact that my son, Evan, isn’t here.”
Reinhardt said the vigil draws such a large crowd because of its speakers.
“The most important thing, in my opinion, is that people that come share their stories of recovery,” he said. “When they hear that journey that a person has been through, and then where they are now, in terms of being in recovery and giving back to their community, those stories really resonate with people.”
The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a live recovery band, the Musical Intervention Recovery band led by Adam Christoferson, playing while attendees gather at the Hope and Remembrance Wall, where they can place orange heart stickers in tribute to loved ones lost too soon.
“There’s soothing music, there’s this hope and remembrance wall, people can be talking to one another after the summer,” Reinhardt said. “Many of these people are what I call recovery warriors. They’re people that want to recover out loud.”
The formal program begins at 7 p.m. and will be emceed by John Hamilton, CEO of Liberation Programs. This year’s event will feature three speakers in long-term recovery, Andrew, Maggie and Mike, two recovery songwriters, Ned and Dave, performing original songs in between speakers, and a mother from the support group introducing the third speaker.
“This mom was in our support group from almost the first day we got it started,” Reinhardt said. “She is willing to tell anybody that listens that it’s a family disease, that everyone in the family is impacted when someone has a substance use disorder.”
The candlelight ceremony will be co-led by two local clergy members, Martha Epstein and Maryanne Baker.
A highlight of this year’s event will be the return of Kera Townshend, who spoke at the very first vigil nine years ago when she was three years in recovery. She and Evan Reinhardt attended New Canaan High School together. Now 12 years in recovery, married with two sons, she returns as what Reinhardt called “a perfect example” of the vigil’s central message.
“I’m gonna remember back when Kera stood up courageously at the very first event when we didn’t know really what we had,” he said. “And then, these nine years later, for her to be where she is now, to have a husband and two healthy boys, that recovery can be fun, recovery is possible.”
The evening closes with a candlelight ceremony, led by local clergy from multiple faith communities, and a community pledge.
“It’s just touching for people to take a candle, light it, and light the candle of the person next to them,” Reinhardt said. “And look at that candlelight as a light of hope for others.”
This year’s theme is Community, Addiction, Recovery. Reinhardt said the tagline captures what the vigil has always been about.
“It’s about all these different members of the community, including that big group that I call concerned citizens,” he said. “They’re not impacted in their own family, but they want to help. They want to make a difference and they want to learn how.”
For those who have never attended, Reinhardt said there is no need to hesitate.
“No one’s gonna be noticing whether you’re there or not, because it’s gonna be 600, 700, or 800 people there,” he said. “But I think what you’ll find is that it’s just fascinating to see that the whole community has come out. Everyone can, in their own little way, make a difference.”
His message to families who may be struggling silently was equally direct.
“When you open up to somebody that you don’t really know that well, a lot of times, they have a similar story to yours,” he said. “The community is full of people that want to help, because they have similar experiences. I thought I was alone. I thought I was the only family member in New Canaan to have this issue. But the more I learned, the more I realized, no, there are so many others like me out there.”
Reinhardt said he does not think of the vigil as an event.
“It’s a movement,” he said. “And that is symbolized by the vigil we have at the corner of South and Elm, because so many people will be there, and we all can make a difference.”
He also encouraged anyone in a moment of crisis to reach out to him directly through the organization’s website.
“It’s okay to call me because all I’m gonna do is say, well, one of these two people can help you, and here are their phone numbers,” he said. “I’m happy. It really fulfills me to be able to do that.”
Attendees are encouraged to wear orange, Evan Reinhardt’s favorite color. The event is free and open to the public. Those interested can reserve a candle at ncparentsupportgroup.org/annual-addiction-awareness-vigil. The rain date is September 2.
The event is co-hosted by the New Canaan Community Foundation and supported by sponsors including the Town of New Canaan, New Canaan CARES, Silver Hill Hospital, The Lighthouse CT and Walter Stewart’s Market.
Lauren Patterson, president and CEO of the New Canaan Community Foundation, said the vigil has become a cornerstone of the community.
“Congratulations to Paul on ten years of bringing our community together around addiction and recovery,” Patterson said. “What he started has given families a place to turn, and it reminds all of us that change begins with connection, story by story.”
The New Canaan Parent Support Group meets every Thursday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church at 111 Oenoke Ridge. Reinhardt can be reached at 203-564-6374 or at paul@ncparentsupportgroup.org.