From March 3 to the 17, students and staff may have noticed a white tree standing in the corner of North Harford’s cafeteria. However, this isn’t just any old decorative tree. This is the The Conversation Tree.

The tree that originated at Harford Technical High School, features 55 “conversation hearts” (the candy hearts with words on them). These hearts contain inspirational words and conversation starters. Of the 55 hearts, 29 of them feature a picture of a person from Harford County who died from a fatal heroin overdose.

Harford Tech Special Educator and S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions) advisor, Deborah Schlehr, explained “Our S.A.D.D. organization wanted to put a “face” to addiction.  We wanted to remove the stigma and show that addiction does not have a stereotype; it is the person in front of you at the grocery store, the parent on the sidelines of a practice for their child, the student in your class, or a peer in your group.”

North Harford spanish teacher and S.T.A.R.S (Students Taking A Responsible Stand) advisor, Lori Rake, stated “I was really intrigued by it! The people at Harford Tech brought it up to us and they talked to us about it. I thought it was really cool especially since the heroin problem is such a huge issue in Harford County and the surrounding communities, so I was really excited to have it here to try to help spread awareness. It goes really well with the Addicted play.”

Rake also explains that she thinks the display is impacting students in the school. She reported “I think some of the people that went up and looked at the pictures, saw some graduates there. I know we lost someone recently, so I think it really does have an impact on students and makes them really think about it.”

This is only the second year for the the addiction display, but the display is designed to continue for years to come. Schlehr’s plans for the display involve getting the exhibit to every school in the county next year. Getting it to as many schools as possible seriously allows for the tree to raise awareness about heroin addiction, and especially awareness of the growing epidemic in Harford County.

Along with The Conversation Tree, the display also includes The Chain of HOPE. This chain of Hope stands for Heroin Overdose Prevention Effort. During lunch students receive a slip of paper and add a “link” to their school’s chain by writing down a goal or dream that they possess and would like to see come true.

The exhibit allows the current subject of addiction to impact students and staffs of schools all over Harford County, and it aids in educating the youth in order to increase addiction prevention.

This display will be traveling to other schools in the county including Havre de Grace, Fallston, Bel Air, Patterson Mill, Edgewood, and C. Milton Wright. Each school will make their own chain of hope, and they’ll all be displayed together at the Bel Air Public Library in June.