http://2cccd5dfe1965e26adf6-26c50ce30a6867b5a67335a93e186605.r53.cf1.rackcdn.com/piratesmessengers.mp3
When the Message Carriers get together its kind of like a family reunion.
Some of them have known each other for decades, others for years. Some are just meeting for the first time. Regardless, they have a unifying bond. They are all in recovery from drugs or alcohol or love someone who is.
The Message Carriers' self-proclaimed mission is to put a face on recovery in efforts to reduce stigmas and change public policy. One of the groups' projects is this choir
Tonight they are singing the Star Spangled Banner at The Pirates Game.
This is the third time The Message Carriers will be singing at a Pirates Game. The first time they did was in 2006.
Robin Hurston Spencer is Executive Director of The Message Carriers. In recovery herself, she says events like this are what the group are all about. After all, its one thing to say that someone can recover from substance abuse – it's another thing to stand up and say, here I am. She says it's good for the audience to see- as well as for those in recovery.
"There's thousands of people in the audience and you look out and you say wow. This is a dream come true for some of us. Some of us have never been to a major league sporting event until we get here. Some of us have only dreamt of being here some of us never could have imagined but we're there," she said.
