Calvin News

Substance abuse is a problem that cuts across societal boundaries. It is a problem that has had a significant impact on college campuses.

That's why an upcoming visit to the campus of Calvin College by William Cope Moyers (left) promises to be an important one. Moyers will speak of his own struggle with substance abuse, a story that includes not just 15 years as an award-winning journalist for such media outlets as CNN, but also years of addiction to both alcohol and drugs.

Moyers, the son of veteran journalist Bill Moyers, is commited to carrying the message of both addiction and recovery to the public arena. He has traveled around the country sharing his story with policy makers, business leaders, community groups and such media outlets as Larry King Live, Oprah Winfrey and the Today Show.

On September 12 he will bring his message of hope to Grand Rapids in a talk that is free and open to the public. His goal is to put a personal face on addiction and to share his fight for recovery. And his message will be a powerful one for college students.

Moyers shares his introduction into the world of substance abuse at the age of 15 when he first tried marijuana. He shares his slow slide into alcoholism and the move from alcohol to harder drugs. He shares hitting rock bottom in an Atlanta crack house in 1989, followed by years of abstinence before almost overdosing in 1994. He shares his three tries at rehabilitation and the struggles he still faces even after almost six years being clean and sober.

Moyers is now the president of the Johnson Institute Foundation, based in Minneapolis, Minn. Calvin College is partnering with Pathfinder Resources, a Grand Rapids based substance abuse treatment center, on Moyers' visit.