×

Celebrate Recovery Day to provide fun, information

Overcoming addiction is a tough, life-long battle. This Saturday, those who are in that fight, and their loved ones, are invited to take part in a celebration of their successes, as the Washington County Behavioral Health Board and the Right Path for Washington County holds Celebrate Recovery Day at Muskingum Park.

“Celebrate Recovery Day is a celebration for people in recovery and their families,” said Cathy Harper, coordinator for the Right Path for Washington County.

The event will feature games, live music, food and speakers who are in recovery telling the story of their journey to sobriety.

Shay Dunn, 27, of Newport, will be one of the speakers at the event and said she wants to give back to the community that she hurt. After 10 years of active addiction she was arrested for crimes associated with her addiction to opioids. Using programs like the ones offered at the celebration and The Facebook page “From Prison to Purpose” she said she was able to begin her recovery. Now, almost three years clean and sober, she wants people to see there is hope, she said.

“Everybody knew about my addiction so they should know about my recovery. I’ve always been part of the problem and today I want to be part of the answer,” she said.

People in recovery and their families will have access to a wealth of knowledge from booths set up by local organizations. The Washington County Behavioral Board, Right Path for Washington County and the Suicide Awareness Alliance plus several more will be there to give information to the public.

“We want people to know where to get help. We have everything they need to get the help they need. It really is the best time in the county for getting services to the people who need the assistance,” said Harper.

The event has a full slate of music scheduled, including Brady Young, Levi Westfall and Some Kind of Strange. Kona Ice, Busy Bee Restaurant, Little Caesars and Lisa’s Sweet Stop will also be there for attendees to keep fueled during the four hour celebration.

Kassia Kostelnik, the kitchen manager at the Busy Bee, said she wanted to help get the word out about the suffering that people are going through that nobody sees.

“We lost my daughter’s dad to suicide due to drug addiction. I wanted to do this so people can be aware of the problem and to help,” she said.

Miriam Keith, the recovery and prevention advocate at the Washington County Behavioral Health Board, said she wanted to do a large-scale event so they could reach as many people as possible.

“No mater how much we advertise we can still do more to let people know about the services we provide,” she said.

She said she thinks the community needs to pay attention to positive strides of those who are in recovery and not just the bad situations caused by people still in the throes of addiction.

“People can and do get better everyday. We just hear about people using and the negative results from that,” she said.

The event will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Muskingum Park.

If You Go

•What: Celebrate Recovery Day.

•Where: Muskingum Park.

•When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

•Activities: Food, games, live music, giveaways, recovery information, speakers.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.15/week.

Subscribe Today