Groton — It started with a sensitive obituary and was punctuated by another senseless overdose death.

But now members of the local Narcotics Anonymous community finally have what they say is a positive message about the rash of opioid overdoses that have plagued southeastern Connecticut over the past few months.

"You can stay clean."

That's the message on a billboard erected last week off the Gold Star Highway thanks to the $900 that local Narcotics Anonymous members raised since January through donations at their regular meetings. The billboard, which will be up for two months near a small plaza not far from the Acura car dealership on Route 184, includes a photo of a young woman gazing out a window as well as NA's toll-free number — 800-627-3543 — that people in trouble can call to seek help for their addiction.

"If we can save one addict ... and get them to a meeting, it will be worth it," said a 65-year-old former addict from Old Lyme who asked only to be referred to as Harry.

"Narcan can bring an addict back from the dead, but NA can teach an addict how to live," added another 62-year-old former addict from East Lyme who wanted to be known as Joe.

Harry, a retired state worker who spent most of his career working in drug treatment centers, initially had agreed to use his name, but later realized that would violate NA policy of members remaining anonymous.

Harry said the billboard project started when The Day published the obituary of 21-year-old Madisen "Maddie" Vail of Mystic, whose family bravely announced that addiction led to her demise and noted that they were publicizing the cause of death to fight the embarrassment and stigma many feel in the face of an overdose. Many others have stepped forward locally to tell their stories since.

"Maddie struggled to end her addiction through different recovery programs, but was unable to conquer this horrible disease," read the obituary. "It is a true epidemic destroying our families."

But Harry said he is living proof that it is possible to stay clean and live a productive life. What many stories about opioid addiction neglect to tell, he said, is that going through drug treatment is only half the story; the other half is staying sober with the support of groups like Narcotics Anonymous.

"It's all about love, no matter what," said Harry, who has been clean for more than three decades.

Joe said one of the misconceptions people have is that "once an addict, always an addict." An employee of a dental-supply company who has been clean 32 years, Joe said he was proud that both his three children and six grandchildren have never seen him high.

When Joe and Harry were going through a wave of addiction in the 1970s, Connecticut had only one NA region to deal with the problem and only three meeting sites. Now, they said, there are nine NA regions and 260 meetings a week in Connecticut, with 14 meetings a week in New London alone.

Free Narcotics Anonymous meetings are also held in places people might not expect, such as in the Rogers Lake area of Old Lyme, which has had NA get-togethers for 31 years now. A recently opened NA site is at St. Ann's Church in Old Lyme, where a surprisingly large group has formed, including several teenagers, Harry said.

He emphasized that NA is open to anyone, including parents and family members. The local region goes from Old Saybrook to Rhode Island and up to the Norwich area.

"It's a fellowship," Harry said. "It's a way to live."

Eerily, the Narcotics Anonymous billboard was put up right in front of the Flagship Inn & Suites, the motel where a Griswold teenager died late last month from a drug overdose. The death of Olivia Roark is still under investigation, but two people have been charged with heroin possession and distribution counts in the case.

Joe said all addicts have an age at which they predict their own death. His was 35, but he now is close to doubling that prediction thanks to Narcotics Anonymous.

The epidemic of drug addiction was just as bad in the 1970s as it is today, Harry said, but now "it's out of the closet," and perhaps the stigma has lessened thanks to the stories of Madisen Vail and so many others. Still, Joe and Harry know that her story could have just as easily been their story without the feeling of camaraderie and commitment engendered by NA.

"We're no different from that girl who passed away," Harry said.

l.howard@theday.com