Local groups host fourth annual Walk for Recovery

Just like the sun cutting through the threatening gray clouds on Saturday before the fourth annual Walk for Recovery, bring some light to the sky, so too is there hope in the dark and lonely world of substance use disorder. That was one message behind the event.

“We weren’t sure if the weather was going to keep people away,” said Michelle Overstreet, founder and CEO of MYHouse. MYHouse sponsored the walk, along with True North Recovery. “But look at the turnout. It’s really treatment rich, and that’s part of the goal. To create a space where all the treatment programs come together and represent for the movement in the Valley.”

For the people taking part in the walk, each step marked different milestones in their recovery journeys, and the further they walked, the more they were met with waves, cheers, and honking horns of encouragement and support, reminding them that the Mat-Su Borough community supports their continued efforts.

The walk is part of National Recovery Month, and as the month comes to an end, dozens of people in recovery, those who support friends and family in recovery, and other members of the community showed up for the Walk for Recovery.

The other message-you are not alone in your recovery journey, as said by Eric Farnsworth, who works with the Mobile Crisis Unit and Daniel Cuculia, a Peer Supervisor at MYHouse.

“You’re not alone. This brings awareness to everybody in the community. It might be an individual disease, but it’s a family issue and a community problem,” said Farnsworth. “This biggest lie I ever told myself is that I’m only hurting myself, and that’s not true at all. It (addiction) affects everyone around us, from the individual to a national scale, a world scale. It doesn’t discriminate. Addiction affects everybody.”

Farnsworth said that while the walk celebrates recovery, it also offers a beacon for people going through substance abuse with resources available.

“This is just our little way of everyone coming together and showing support to each other. And a way to reach out to those that are hiding in the shadows, unsure of how to get the help that they need.”

Earlier this year, MYHouse launched Jeff’s Path, a level 3.1 Substance Abuse Residential Treatment program for youth ages 18-25, and the walk was the first time clients were able to take part in the recovery walk.

“It’s awesome,” Overstreet says of the program. She says that most of the clients have been in similar programs before, but have been locked in. At Jeff’s Path, they can go to the drop-in center, get job training, interact with others at the supper club, and they see others just like them. “They see others and realize they can do this. They aren’t broken.”

“All these people coming out and willing to do this walk, to challenge the stigma of addiction, it everything,” said Cuculia, who participated in the walk for the second time.

“This is a message of hope, that recovery is possible.”