Many area residents broke out their sneakers Wednesday afternoon to bring awareness to drug and alcohol addiction and celebrate those in recovery.

Around 140 people participated in the Carbon Monroe Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission’s Recovery Walk, which began in the parking lot of the Lehighton Recreation Center on South Eighth Street.Participation was up from 40 walkers last year.Before the walk, Jason Snyder, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, detailed his own addiction struggles and shared his recovery story.Describing his family as blue collar and middle class, it came as a shock to many when Snyder’s only two brothers died of drug overdoses at age 25 and 28.Snyder himself entered inpatient rehabilitation in 2011 for addiction to prescription pain medication after years of alcohol and drug abuse.“That was the turning point in my life and I have been clean ever since,” Snyder said. “I celebrate my recovery every day and am grateful for the life I’ve been given.”Snyder called addiction a highly stigmatized disease. He didn’t confess his own demons, saying he “didn’t want to be one of those people.”“The most effective way to destigmatize it, however, is to share our stories,” he said. “Come out of the shadows and talk about what recovery has meant to our lives.” Participants released balloons in honor of loved ones lost to addiction. They also wrote down the amount of days, months or years they have been clean.“We just did a walk in Monroe County and had a total of 103 years and five months,” said Jamie Drake, executive director for the commission. “We will use that as a goal for next year and we want to double it.”Wayne Nothsetin, chairman of the Carbon County Board of Commissioners, presented Drake with a proclamation in honor of National Recovery Month.State Rep. Doyle Heffley also attended the walk.“We are in a real battle right now with addiction and the battle will be won on every street and in every home,” Heffley said. “It will come through educating people on addiction and how we can prevent our family and friends from being exposed to harmful drugs, and how we can help our recovering friends through the programs out there.”