A full day during which DuPont was followed by a man who’d lost his son to overdose, Dr. A. Omar Abubaker, chairman of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, ended with the personal stories of those who are actively fighting their addictions.

One of them, Jonathan Tyree, said he is working to leave behind days when he couldn’t bear to look in the mirror. Drugs used to help him cope with a lack of self-esteem, he said.

It’s “ ‘I’m just not good enough, I’ll never be good enough,’ but as the drugs wear off those feelings come back,” Tyree said. “I thought I was the worst of the worst. I didn’t think it. I knew it.”

With the help of methadone to curb cravings, social supports and the Hanover County drug court program, Tyree said he is now focused on being a father and leaving that life and those feelings behind.

“I love who I am now,” he said.

Tyree and others who volunteered to share their stories Thursday said they were focused on making meaning of their experiences by helping those who are struggling. The same is true for Abubaker, who lost his 21-year-old son, Adam, three years ago.