Governor Christie: Every Life We Save Is A Gift To The Family We Return That Person To

Statement

I can't tell you how many treatment facilities I've been to where the addict has said to me, when they introduce themselves to me, Governor, I come from a good family. It's the first thing they say and I look at them and say, what made you think I thought you came from a bad one? There is a stigma attached to this disease today that prevents parents and spouses and siblings from seeking out the best help. There is a stigma about this disease today that prevents the addict from reaching out to a hand like Monsignor Puma's to even ask for it to be touched. The fight that we have on our hands and that Eva's is in the middle of, is not just a fight to get people who are in treatment on the road to recovery, it's the fight to get them here in the first place and for them to not believe that because of the judgments of our society that we believe their life has no value. Every life is an individual gift from God. I believe that the mission here at Eva's absolutely displays that each and every day. Not through words like I just gave you but through the actions of the people who work here, contribute here, support this place, and yes, the people who get on the road to recovery from this place. So I am proud to be here today. I'm proud in some small way to help to contribute, but most importantly, I'm proud of the mission that you're meeting every day. It is an extraordinarily needed one and if you meet the mission here every day, we will not save every life, but that shouldn't be the standard. Every life we save is a gift to the family we return that person to, as a better mother or father, as a better husband or wife, as a better son or daughter, as a better brother or sister. That's a great gift and that's the gift that Eva's gives each and every day and this place and Monsignor Puma for founding it, is truly one of God's great gifts. Thank you all very much.

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