'You make Dylan’s legacy live on': An emotional ribbon cutting for Day One/Dylan’s Place.

With a full house and full hearts, the ribbon was cut marking the opening of Dylan’s Place, part of the True North Recovery’s Day One Center.

“This started with a group of us on Facebook screaming from the rooftops that we got well and you could too. From that grassroots movement, we’ve continued to challenge what’s normal in behavioral healthcare,” said Karl Soderstrom, founder and CEO of True North Recovery (TNR) as he gave remarks at the beginning of the ribbon cutting ceremony.

“We just wanted to stop burying our friends.”

“It’s about getting connected to TNR, and it’s about getting connected to everything in our community. It’s about sitting down with someone and asking ‘what’s going on; what do you need?’” Soderstrom said that Day One will help fill that void that many have seen in the Mat-Su Borough. Day One will offer something as simple as a hot shower, a hot meal, and a conversation with a peer counselor.

“It’s a great place to start-a shower, a snack, and an ear. Fundamentally, we have this idea that we have to have a master’s level (education) and a huge pile of paperwork just to get in front of somebody, to get somebody started, when they really just need an ear,” Soderstrom said. After that, Day One staff will be available to help people navigate different paths for recovery, with the understanding that sometimes people might not be ready for recovery, but are wanting to make a connection so when the time comes that they are ready, Day One will be there for them.

“The design and desire of Day One is the ability to walk into a building and say ‘I’m done, I’m ready, and I don’t know where to start,’” said James Savage, Director of Operations for Day One.

“You’re going to be met with love, tolerance, compassion, and most importantly, experience,” Savage said. He also spoke of the Lazarus Collaborative, which is a group of providers within the community connecting clients with psychiatric medication management, psychiatrists, withdrawal management services, and primary care.

“Lazarus can connect us to other programs and help start the process.”

Emotions ran high when Karen Malcom-Smith, who lost her first husband David, and later he son Dylan to overdose, and has been key in the development of Dylan’s Place, was introduced to the audience. It is no coincidence that the withdrawal management center within Day One is named after her son.

“You said yes, you were the first to say yes, and others quickly followed,” Soderstrom told the attendees, adding that Alaska Mental Health Trust, the Mat-Su Health Foundation, the Division of Behavioral Health all said “yes” and have also been instrumental in helping TNR expand services to Launch Pad, Day One and Dylan’s Place.

Along the walls in the living area of Dylan’s Place are photographs and memorabilia from Dylan’s life, like a pair of boxing gloves that hang on the wall, and the phrase, “Every saint has a past; every sinner has a future,” words that Dylan had tattooed on his arm during a period of sobriety.

“It was a message of hope,” Malcolm-Smith said wistfully of her son’s tattoo that has now become the prominent message at Dylan’s Place.

“Dylan was a protector; he would have laid down his life for every one of you in this room. He was a fighter and a brawler. His dreams were cut short…addiction stopped him.”

Malcolm-Smith briefly spoke of her son’s struggle with addiction that started after an ATV accident left him hospitalized and prescribed Oxycodone for 3 months after, then without warning or a taper program, he was cut-off. She said from there, Dylan struggled with various pills until all that was left was black tar heroin.

“For the next 7 years, he struggled in and out and during that time I watched this man with integrity and commitment and talent for songwriting and boxing…suffer.”

She said the final time her son went into rehab, he had asked for the help without prodding or begging from others, but at the time there were no peer services, very few beds, and had to go to treatment out of state. When he returned to Alaska, Dylan was supposed to get a Vivitrol injection, which helps in preventing relapses into drug or alcohol addiction. However, there weren’t enough providers at the time, and Narcan had not been as widely available as it is now, and he had to wait 2 weeks for his appointment.

“Dylan died one day before his Vivitrol shot.”

“We put his obituary in the paper because I wanted people to know. Why should I feel shame for something that happened to him? And everybody showed up. And that’s what inspired me a year later to start the David Dylan Foundation.” Initially, the David Dylan Foundation fought against the stigma attached to substance use disorder and memorials to honor those who lost the battle against addiction.

Malcolm-Smith met Savage, and along with Michael Carson, Michelle Overstreet, Kara Nelson, and Soderstrom, and said, “I thought these were the people,” who would help advocate and build something together.

Malcolm-Smith had always planned to sell her son’s home and donating the funds when the right opportunity presented itself.

“Everything just lined up. I sold Dylan’s house, they had already started withdrawal management, and this was God-led, that this would be a first step on the journey of healing.”

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski was on hand, receiving a first-hand tour of the facility and took time to meet with the staff of TNR and Day One before taking a few minutes to speak to the guests.

“I’m so emotionally grateful for the hearts that are here. I have no other words than to say ‘thank you’. It is so hard to know that these places that are coming together, to provide support have names of our loved ones, and yet it is so important that this be Dylan’s Place, that we have Bruce’s Law, because we cannot disengage from the people, the humans, the friends that they are,” Senator Murkowski said before adding an emotional note of support.

“Thank you for giving in all that you do in a way that is done with grace and dignity and love and compassion for one another as a human being, without judgement, without condition. We just want you to get well.”

The weight and symbolism of the name was not lost on the speakers or attendees, as remarked by Michelle Overstreet from My House:

“I completely recognize that the name attached to this building symbolizes many, many people that were lost.” She said that the space will help many people heal and help them to find recovery.

“We have needed detox in the Valley for years. We have been begging and asking and pleading,” said a teary Overstreet, a sentiment that was echoed by Savage when he spoke, saying that the center was a need long gone unmet.

“It’s a long time coming for our community, something very much needed.”

In keeping with the spirit of TNR, the majority of the staff of Launch Pad and Day One is comprised of previous clients of TNR, or who have been in recovery to make those important connections with people seeking treatment.

Another service that will be coming soon as part of Day One will be a Mobile Crisis unit to help answer when someone is in crisis.

“It’s in development right now. We will be partnering with law enforcement and be able to help people in crisis, in that moment of need,” said Sean Morton, who will be the Mobile Crisis Supervisor when the unit comes together over the next few months.

Members of the Wasilla Police Department were on hand for the ceremony, taking time to speak about what Day One will mean as a resource for law enforcement throughout the Borough, to bring people to Day One rather than jail.

“It’s nice to see so many familiar faces,” joked WPD Officer Ryan Gelman, before turning serious.

“Getting a chance to be a part of this is humbling, but also it’s a stark reminder of the realities of the community and the world we live in. It’s real easy for us to get cynical and think ‘well, that’s just how they’re gonna be forever.’ Each and every person in this room has value,” he said, expressing support to everyone in recovery or nearly ready for recovery.

He also pointed out that the building was previously a midwifery center before TNR purchased and repurposed it, saying “What a fitting place for you to re-birth yourselves,” a sentiment met with thunderous applause.

Gelman also noted the prominence of faith and the number 7 throughout the center, saying that both hold importance and relevance to the center, referring to a verse in the Bible in which the disciple Peter asks Jesus how many times a person should be forgiven.

“Jesus says ‘no, you should do it 77 times.’ While that’s not the point that you only get 77 chances, the point is it doesn’t matter how many times you mess up, forgiveness is there for you all the time. When you’ve got a loving, supportive group like this…take advantage of it, because the only way you will get better, the only way we can help is by surrounding ourselves with support.”

“I feel joy and sorrow and I want to thank everybody for showing up,” said Malcolm-Smith.

To the people in the room still working through their own battles, Malcolm-Smith said: “These are the people that tell us that all of the work that we’ve done is working. We respect and admire you, and this is your opportunity to show that the system works, that there are people here who love, that care about you, and that you make Dylan’s legacy live on.”

Day One/Dylan’s Place will be open to the public soon. It is located at 2650 E Broadview Ave in Wasilla. For more information, visit True North Facebook page. If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health crisis, please call 988.