John Davidson of Marion was addicted to drugs.

Christina Conway, who lives in Wareham, is currently trying to overcome her addiction.

Both visited to the Wareham High School auditorium on August 1 to hear someone who had been through the same struggle that they knew, and know, so well.

The Scotty Monteiro Jr. Foundation hosted Christopher Herren, a former NBA basketball player, to speak about a drug addiction that took him from the bright lights of basketball stadiums to a cardboard box when he became homeless.

"It wasn't supposed to happen to me," said Herren, a Fall River native whose father was a Massachusetts State Representative and whose mother worked in corporate America. "I chose not to listen and I chose to say I was above" the warnings to stay away from drugs, he said.

Herren's basketball career was full of highs that make his lows seem more unbelievable.

He was featured inside of Sports Illustrated magazine only a few weeks after entering his freshman year at Boston College.

When he joined the Boston Celtics, then-coach Rick Pitino said he was only the sixth player in the history of the Celtics to grow up in the greater community.

But underlying all of his success was a drug addiction that cast a dark shadow over his NBA dreams.

After arriving at Boston College, Herren abused cocaine for the first time and was kicked out of the school.

After getting picked up by the Boston Celtics, Herren gave a press conference telling viewers how it was a dream come true to play for his home team.

Right after that press conference, Herren went out into the parking lot to meet his dealer and get a fix.

Herren's addiction took priority over his career, his family, and even his own life, he said. He almost lost his life from an overdose.

But after fourteen years of addiction, Herren finally became sober on August 1, 2008.

Herren's visit to Wareham High marked the four-year anniversary of his break from drugs, an achievement that garnered applause from the more than 100 people in the audience.

"For the people who are still struggling, hopefully they'll see that there is hope," said Davidson, explaining that learning of Herren's story some years ago helped him kick his own addiction. "If you get help, things can get better."

Conway was similarly appreciative of Herren's story. She asked him about how he managed to finally kick the addiction after repeated attempts and repeated failures.

"Find it in your soul to forgive yourself," said Herren. "Do the work. Forgive yourself. You know in your heart what you did wrong the first time."

It was a message of forgiveness that Wendy Monteiro, co-founder of the Scotty Monteiro Jr. Foundation, which coordinated Wednesday's event as part of its mission to "Stop the Violence," wanted to be heard loud and clear.

Monteiro spoke about the time she heard two of her young relatives having a conversation.

One was giving himself a hard time for making a mistake. The other was consoling him.

The one consoling the other said, "Your not a bad kid. You're a good kid who did something wrong and who made a bad choice," Monteiro said.

"We know that you are all good kids," Monteiro said to the audience members. "We care and we will help you make good choices."

Cindy Goodman, vice president of the foundation, said the hope is that the choice to stay away from drugs will also turn into the choice to stay away from violence.

"Where the drugs are, there is also a lot of violence that comes with it. My hope is that they'll take [Herren's message] to heart and totally consider before they attempt to do them," Goodman said. "There's a whole better life out there besides the drug environment."