President and CEO of Loved Ones group Ed Hughes gave an enlightening lecture titled “Breaking the Chains of Addiction,” Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church in Huntington.

Hughes’ lecture focused on support while educating family members and loved ones to identify addiction and develop approaches to effectively help the person with an alcohol or drug addiction.

“It’s very important that the first step to be able to see is that we are dealing with someone who is a sick person and needs to get well, not a bad person that needs to get good,” Hughes said.

Hughes has served as executive director of The Counseling Center, Inc. for more than 20 years, and CEO of Compass Community Health Care Center and The Counseling Center, Inc.

The Loved Ones group identifies addiction as a disease and recognizes the process of addiction is hard to understand for loved ones.

During the series, the progression of addiction, how the addicted loved one decides to get help, the recovery process and family recovery were all topics explored by Hughes.

Hughes paused between discussions to ask the audience if it had any questions then went into depth for each of his responses.

Corporate Secretary at Dixon Electrical Systems and Contracting, Inc. Cary Dixon facilitates the Loved Ones group.

“Addiction is a disease, I think it’s about time people realize, we can’t arrest people about this problem, people need help,” Dixon said. “I feel like as family members this group provides so much education and information as well as support, it’s critical for family members to get this information.”

The Loved Ones group is a confidential, educational support group meeting at 6 p.m. each Tuesday at the First Presbyterian Church on Fifth Avenue.

Attendance to the Loved Ones group is free; beverages and snack are provided.

Brianna Paxton can be contacted at [email protected].