ROANOKE, Va. – The Roman family has always had a passion for helping others.
Most recently, Shaquan Roman, the Outreach Coordinator for Eastern Appalachian Adult & Teen Challenge, opened a new Roanoke City office in hopes of reaching more people.
The program is a faith-based addiction treatment program for men, women and teenagers. They also help people experiencing homelessness and other people struggling.
“We just have an environment here that’s safe where we can talk about the issues, and we can go through a program that will help people get freedom and actually not go back to where they got freed from,” Roman said.
Shaquan comes from a family that has always had a desire to help people. His dad is none other than Roanoke City Chief of Police, Sam Roman.
“We have always take the posture in the family to be in the business of helping others and so it’s just great to see him continue that work,” Sam Roman said.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, there were 56 drug overdoses in the Star City back in 2020.
Two years later and looming effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a worry the rise in addiction numbers will continue.
“One thing about addiction is it always grows when someone is alone,” Shaquan Roman said.
However, through the work of the Eastern Appalachian Adult and Teen Challenge, youth and adults can get the help they need to return to a life without addiction.
Watching his son and the work he’s doing, Sam Roman said he couldn’t be more proud.
“It means a lot. To see both he and his wife really work toward the goal of helping others and so that does my heart good,” Roman said.