BEVERLY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A new docuseries on MTV called "16 and Recovering" is about the story of a high school on the Northshore for younger people struggling with addiction.
The film by Steve Liss follows nine students, and Michelle Lipinksi, the principal at Beverly's Northshore Recovery High School, said it's hard to watch.
But Lipinksi said most students do recover and the film sends a hopeful message:
The next time you have a child in front of you, or a person in front of you, who is struggling with a substance abuse disorder, you let that judgement go and you see the person in front of you for who they are. And that is a person who is struggling with a substance abuse disorder.
She hopes the film will help viewers really understand that people suffering from addiction have a chronic disease, and that community is crucial to recovery.
"You don't have to sit back and let someone else do it, jump in," Lipinski said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Suzanne Sausville (@wbzSausville) reports
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(Northshore Recovery High School Facebook)