September 4, 2023 • 45 mins
When Newton Gentry and Sam Alston, founders of the Recovery Awareness Foundation, joined us for a conversation, we were captivated by their compelling addiction journey and inspiring efforts to transform lives. These remarkable individuals opened up about their struggles with addiction and the hurdles they encountered while seeking assistance. Their profound experiences birthed the Recovery Awareness Foundation (R.A.F), an organization committed to bridging the gaps in addiction recovery, dismantling harmful stigma, and nurturing an environment ripe with support and solidarity.
We delved deeper into the phenomenal work of the Recovery Awareness Foundation and its endeavor to provide resources and support and create a culture encouraging individuals to seek help and get the financial support they deserve. They shared their valuable partnership with the Drug-Free All-Stars, an organization promoting drug prevention since 1992, and how they leverage modern tools like social media to amplify awareness and action. Their combined outreach efforts, through organized events and shared resources, empower individuals and communities to break free from the shackles of addiction.
The icing on the cake was our exploration into the transformative power of peer support in the recovery process. Newton and Sam highlighted their upcoming events celebrating National Recovery Month, encouraging our listeners to participate and contribute to their cause. The Recovery Awareness Foundation's work, through its array of activities, scholarships, and innovative resources, is aiding individuals and uplifting entire communities. Tune in for this enlightening episode that underscores the indomitable spirit of those on the path to recovery and the collective efforts contributing to their journey. So DONATE to the good cause! :)
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to A Therapist of Buddhists and you a
collective solution to allthings health and wellness,
brought to you by the RecoveryCollective in Annapolis,
Maryland.
This is a special episode thatmarks a commencement of our
impactful four-part seriesdedicated to the heart and
essence of National RecoveryMonth.
Imagine a month where wecollectively shine a light on
stories of transformation,strength and resilience.
(00:25):
A time when we honor thejourneys of those battling
against the currents ofaddiction and mental health
challenges, emerging victorious.
I'm Luke DeBoy, and here withCoho Zommant.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Hey Luke, what's happening?
Speaker 1 (00:37):
We'll be to our guests here in a minute and for
people listening on podcastplatform, there is a video today
, so feel free to jump onYouTube.
National Recovery Month wasborn in 1989.
Isn't just a time on thecalendar, it's a powerful
movement and it's an embodimentof hope, strength and change.
Every September, thisobservance unites us in
promoting evidence-basedtreatment, celebrating the
(00:59):
immense power of recoverycommunities and saluting the
tireless dedication of serviceproviders who paved the way for
life to be rebuilt.
In fact, I don't know if youknew this, but over 20 million
Americans age 12 and olderstruggled with substance use
disorder in 2020 alone 20million.
In the midst of this starkreality, the significance of
(01:19):
Recovery Month, guided by theSubstance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administrationwe'll call it SAMHSA from here
on becomes even more poignant.
Through the years, samhsa haschosen September as a platform
to unveil initiatives andfunding that elevate mental
health and addiction recovery,while partnering with both
private and public entities tochampion those individuals who,
(01:40):
day by day, forge paths tolong-term recovery.
It's about acknowledging thevictories, the setbacks and the
indomitable spirit that makesthe journey to reclaiming life.
And today, in the spirit ofthis remarkable observance, we
are honored Zell and I arehonored to welcome the
co-founders of the RecoveryAwareness Foundation, newton
(02:01):
Gentry and Sam Alston, twoindividuals whose commitment to
this cause is a testament to thepower of collective healing,
through their tireless efforts,their bridging gaps, dismantling
stigma and fostering a cultureof support.
Welcome guys, thanks forjoining us, thanks for having us
.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Thanks for kicking us off for the first part of the
Recovery Awareness.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Month yeah welcome.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
This is fun.
I'm really in the name, so howcould we not have you guys here
first Recovery AwarenessFoundation, for sure.
So thanks for joining us.
So, if you don't mind, share usthe journey that led to your
guys' creation of the RecoveryAwareness Foundation.
Kick us off.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Okay.
So I guess the whole premisebehind it, what sort of
initiated it, was my personalexperience trying to get clean.
So basically, when I was tryingto get clean I was caught up
and I'm like, okay, I got tocome to treatment before I
relapsed and I already knew Ineeded to figure out a way to
(03:01):
get back.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I knew where I needed to be right.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
In the cycle of suck Right.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
So now I'm locked and loaded, so I'm just like I'm in
a hotel.
I'm up in Baltimore.
I'm like, oh my God, I need tofigure something out.
So literally probably at thevery beginning of the relapse, I
just start calling treatmentcenters, like I'm calling one to
Florida, everywhere, all ofthem down these coasts, calling
treatment centers, and all ofthem are just like we need five
grand, we need three grand, weneed this, we need that.
(03:29):
I'm like, dude, if I had thatkind of money right now, you're
the thing I'd be calling youLike.
Let's be honest, right?
So eventually I ended up findinga spot after I put myself
through a little more pain,right, and end up at a treatment
facility that took stateinsurance.
And when I got out and got myfeet on him, we started just
getting back into the groove ofthings.
I literally was just like Imean, it would be pretty cool,
(03:53):
just start just like afoundation that just had a big
pot of money to help peoplewhenever they wanted to get help
, right, and basically, baskingoff my personal experience, I
was like, okay, if someone callsa treatment center, that might
be like their amount ofwillingness that they're able to
present at that moment, right,sure man.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
We're in it.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
So they present that and someone calls them like,
yeah, we're going to need fivegrand Next thing, you know, they
might just be like well, fuckit.
Like okay, yeah, you know whatI mean?
The big, big, big plan would bejust to literally have be a
resource like nationwide, thatif someone comes and calls and
(04:35):
they don't have the financialability where somebody can call
that can help them, so thatwillingness can turn into an
opportunity, right, and that'swhere our mission statement
comes from Just giving anyonethe opportunity to change your
life and just giving you achance.
Without a chance, there's theother result, right.
So that's sort of the premiseof why we started it.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
There's a need, and then you provided a resource.
Yeah, commendable, powerful.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
So the crazier thing was that when we were trying to
pick a name, I'm just on Googlelike just typing in names and I
swear to God, like this isprobably like the eighth name.
I got to the eighth name.
We got to Recovery AwarenessFoundation and it's sort of kind
of interesting that RAF andthen resentment, anger and fear,
so it all sort of just ends up.
(05:24):
I'd double it, but like it justended up there, like it wasn't
like a plan to get there, itjust yeah, all just sort of
worked out.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Your resentment and anger and fear sparked something
that you guys help at leasthundreds, right?
I mean that's awesome.
So you sparked the brainchild.
Where'd you come into play, sam?
I was just sitting aroundSitting around in sobriety, I'm
just kidding.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
He called me and told me that he had an idea and you
know we talked a couple of timesabout it and it sounded like a
genius idea.
I had a lot of experience in arecovery community in this area,
so I was.
When he told me I was on board,we scratched the money together
and got a five on one C threeand started moving.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
So you guys turned into a nonprofit.
Take us from there.
What happens next?
You guys, we really want to dothis.
You guys, at this point, have Xamount of time.
Sobriety, give them back.
Your own way.
Had it become to what it istoday?
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Basically starting a five on one C three is not as
Tell the people about it, it'snot, as there's a lot of
passionate listeners out there,right?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Okay, let's say so, there's a way.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
There's.
It's not a gray area, but youcan start a for profit and turn
it into a nonprofit.
Sure, right, and let's gothrough whatever realms you'd
have to go to that way.
But so if you go just organicnonprofit from the beginning, it
can be a little costly.
But I felt like I don't feellike it was that difficult, like
(07:03):
once we just did the thingsthat they required.
It took a little bit longer, itdid cost a little bit more and
at that point the whole goal wasjust like if we get there and
then we move on to the nextthing, like now we can figure
out like we're both able to beproductive members of society,
so both have jobs, so we bothhad income.
(07:24):
It was something that we wereable to facilitate getting it
done.
After that all started, then webegan the plan of okay, so now
we have the idea of what wewanna do.
Now we need to figure out howto get the money Right.
How are we gonna raise somemoney right?
So I participated in a fewdifferent like local recovery
(07:48):
organizations get some network.
There met some people, ended uppartnering with a couple of
different treatment facilitiesand we're able to get some
reputable treatment facilitiesto support us.
So then we were able to putthem on our website as resources
that we had.
(08:08):
That worked with us.
Potential referral optionsCorrect, so we had that, and
then we started.
Our first fundraiser thing waswristbands, and then it went to
t-shirts, sweat shirts.
And then it went to sweatshirtsand literally now we have
different fundraisers.
The sky's a little early on thethings that we've been able to
(08:32):
do, but it started with we had acuts for a cause.
We did free hair cuts, donationonly.
We did tattoos for a cause.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
So what do you mean?
Like hair cuts and tattoos?
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Right, what does that mean?
So the cuts for a cause.
Buddy of ours worked at thebarbershop they had just opened
and I just threw an idea likehey, we should do like a
fundraiser here and try to raisesome money for foundation.
And they were like, okay, let'sdo it.
So then I'm like okay.
(09:03):
So like my mind of commit first, figured out later, type thing
right.
So like I had the idea, I threwit out First person, grabbed
onto it.
So I'm like, okay, so now wegot to figure out the next steps
.
So what we're gonna do?
So find barbers, find food,make flyers If I looked, oh my
(09:24):
God, on my timeline just poppedup like a flyer from the first
cuts for a cause.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
It looks like a two year old baby, and I will say
this like luckily the communitythat we reached out to, the
individual that we reached outto, were more than willing to be
of assistance and help.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
So they donate their time, their services, and then
the person receiving the haircutor the tattoo donates the money
Not partial or all to the RAPfoundation.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Yeah, I think when we were doing, when we did cuts
for a cause, it was a hundredpercent, so a hundred percent of
whatever donations we were ableto raise through the haircuts.
They donated back to us andmight not seem like a lot but
like our first fundraiser, Ithink we raised like 600 bucks,
but literally that 600 buckshelp probably like six or seven
(10:22):
people.
Yeah, like you know what I mean.
So I mean especially being inMaryland, so a lot of there's a
lot of funding sources out, yeah, so like treatment with state
insurance and stuff like that'snot really costing people a lot
of money.
So the main thing for us here,like in our area, is getting
into recovery homes and stepsafter right.
(10:45):
So a lot of it is a lot of ourlike scholarships are giving the
help when people get on theirfeet once they get out.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So you guys are really bootstrapping, starting
from hey, how are you willing tohelp Haircuts?
If I remember correctly, thiswas I know this was years ago
percentage of eating out at arestaurant yeah, part of that
was donated to California PizzaKitchen.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
California Pizza Kitchen pizza with a purpose.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
So you guys were willing to do anything and
everything to get.
So you you some of thispercentage, if not all of it,
donated to a good cause ofpeople getting treatment.
So name some of the things thatthe donations went to.
You've named a couple sobeloved.
What are some?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
of the travel to treatment entrance costs, some
deductibles, a lot of it, a reala lot of it really is getting
people like this somewhere tosleep.
The main thing is like for me,I could go, so like I need to
have somewhere to go, and whenthe opportunity to go to a
(11:50):
recovery house presented itself,Right.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
I can't tell you how many times as whether it was a
case manager, therapist,aftercare coordinator, someone's
willing to go after treatmentto sober living, and they just
don't have the money.
Yeah, man or they don't haveenough money, or family was able
to give them X amount andthey're like, well, I just can't
(12:15):
go.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Right and that was another reason because, like
being in a recovery community,you see the direct need Right,
like you're communicating, andyou also have relationships with
individuals that have that needand they just need something.
And with a lot of the programsout here in Nantarone County,
like you were just saying, likesometimes somebody may not
(12:39):
qualify, somebody may havealready burnt too many bridges
at a particular place, you know,and that that funding source,
those funds, that little bit ofmoney, though, that couple of
dollars, could be a world ofdifference.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
And then the gratitude right.
That avenue of recovery doesn'tclose.
So I think about part of yourBuddhist journey, some of your
Buddhist principles, and whenyou were in that monastery
walking for food.
Are there any parallels in here?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Yeah, a lot.
You know.
What I was going to say is whatyou guys have shared so far is
very inspiring.
First of all, it's like havinga dream and then seeing the
dream come true.
It's what I've heard from yourstory, but also basing it on
your personal experience,especially the part about the
willingness.
I feel like for an addict, thereis the willing.
There's like a very shortwindow for a willingness.
That because you know, in myown experience too, I would do
(13:35):
something and then the universelines up, even in the negative
direction.
I will use something and thensomething else comes up.
But then when I do somethinggood, like I have a desire to
get help, but then if there's abarrier, the window is gone.
I don't want to do it anymore.
Maybe the universe doesn'tsupport it, but your premise is
kind of bridging that gap bymeeting people who have the
(13:55):
willingness, you know, at thatwindow before it's too late.
So so it's really inspiring,because I guess in recovery
literature too, about when themotives are set in the right
place, you know everything isjust, we're just backed up, you
know.
So that's what I'm hearingEverything that comes through.
You guys were supported, sothat's what I'm hearing.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
You guys have been a nonprofit foundation for how
long now?
Since 2018.
Yeah, I remember working in thetreatment field how these would
tell people if you do what'sbest for your recovery, if
you're willing to do what's bestfor your recovery, somehow it
works out.
It may not work out the way youwant it to, but if you do
(14:41):
what's best for your recovery, Ipromise you will work out.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
And there's some times where they had that if you
compare it to 12 steps thatthat willingness, that surrender
, and then, because they werewilling and there may have been
one or two times, I had you guysin my back pocket.
That was like you know, theydidn't think they had any chance
of good or sober living, butbecause they were willing, now I
knew sometimes there's aresource available, you know.
(15:07):
So that's, it's powerful.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Through the whole play, like just to be available.
Yeah, like you know what I mean.
So like the whole premise of itwas like, just in its simplest
form, raise a ton of money andgive it away.
Like that's literally thepremise Raise money and help
people.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Yeah, it's awesome.
In addition to money andhelping with whether it's
inpatient, outpatient, soberliving, co-pays, things like
that you guys raise awareness.
What are some ways that youguys have done that over the
years?
Because as creative as you guysgot with literally giving
people tattoos and donations tohair cuts, to a percentage of
(15:53):
pizza goes to you got creative.
In that way, you guys havegotten creative in terms of
raising awareness.
What are some of the waysyou've done that over the years?
Speaker 3 (16:03):
We partnered with a group called Drug Free All Stars
and we have been.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
You said Drug Free All Stars.
Drug Free All Stars.
You gotta tell the people whatthat means.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Drug Free All Stars is an organization that started
in 1992.
Yeah, 1992.
Early 90s that was just goingaround a country promoting drug
prevention.
So we linked up with themapproximately four years ago and
we have been putting onoutreach what do you call them?
Speaker 4 (16:37):
Outreach celebrations every year yeah, community
events yeah, just different kindof community events just to get
kids.
Community parents.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
For example what?
Speaker 4 (16:49):
What are?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
some of the events, we almost call it a celebration.
You don't correlate Most peopledon't correlate drug awareness
education.
Just say no Dare program rightTo a drug free celebration.
What do you mean?
Speaker 3 (17:03):
by that what I meant was we opened the doors to the
community to come andparticipate in celebrity
softball games.
Okay, I mean not celebrity, buthey, you're there, sam.
We did the math, my God, we didthe mayor versus drug free
(17:24):
all-star softball game when themayor picked the team.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
So you've got people in recovery on one team and
you've got people doing policiesand representing everything
that the mayor does when they'reon the team.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah, Pretty much yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
That seems like a celebration.
That's what.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
I'm saying we opened the door for individuals in the
community to just come get anabundance of resources from
different organizations andentities in Adderondo County.
Just celebrate man Food fun.
It's cool.
We got a little sports clinic,soccer clinics and all that
(18:04):
stuff going on At DJ and we goout there and we just have a
good time.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
So recently you guys connected with the soccer team.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
Yeah, we did the part of the Napples Blues.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
What do you do there?
You just raise awareness at thesoccer games, yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Soccer is a huge community.
It's a community that is inevery demographic right.
So when the Napples Blues cameto Annapolis, basically our I
don't know what you would callit, Gerard, but our liaison.
So a quick backstory.
(18:42):
Gerard started Drug Free AllStars in the early 90s, right
Gotcha, and in the early 90sthey did all sorts of stuff like
we was talking about goingacross the country.
They did it as high assponsoring the All Star game,
the Camden Yards, when I washere, Like Brooks Robinson at
Anymary, were honorary Drug FreeAll Stars.
(19:02):
We have posters and all sorts ofcreative stuff with them on it
articles it was.
It was very, very impressiveand it was pretty cool to see
that back then what he was ableto do with those kind of
resources.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Versus.
Mr Moore was at the highestlevel right.
Speaker 4 (19:24):
Like this is back in the just say no, yeah, so just
to think of that.
And now, where we are now withsocial media, with just
Platforms among platforms, justdifferent platforms, to be able
to just get information topeople.
Like he literally had to driveacross the country.
Yeah, like literally had todrive across the country to
(19:50):
promote it, right, and we couldsit in chairs and talk about it
and it can get as far as wewanted to.
Yeah, like.
You know what I mean.
So when he brought thatorganization to us and he was
like here, you guys, this iswhat I did Sort of gave us a
roadmap on how to be successfulin the prevention effort.
(20:13):
We sort of just took it and ranwith it and he has some ideas.
We've had some ideas and sort ofcoming together to do the it's
called the Drug Education andAwareness Sporting Festival.
A lot of words, but like theseare all the different things
that are taking place there,right?
So you have treatments in thisarea, you have city resources
there, you have healthdepartment.
(20:34):
Like you have a variety ofdifferent resources.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
All aspects of health and wellness right Correct
right.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
So we have all these aspects.
We have a basketball clinic, wehave a soccer clinic, we have
the softball game, as wementioned, free food it's a free
community event, right?
So we want the whole goal is toget as many kids there as
possible and provide them withjust information.
So at the end of the day, thewhole plan is opportunity to
(21:02):
present itself to a kid and thekid just has a little bit of
information and he makes thedecision not to right In itself,
drug Free All-Services is acomplete success, like, because
the whole goal is just to givethe information so that they
know, instead of the why don'tknow, let me try aspect, or I
(21:23):
don't know, so never heard aboutit.
So what's the worst that couldhappen?
Right, that was a big thingwith Drug Free All-Services.
Like the goal would eventuallybe to my brain works one way.
So the goal would be to be ableto implement like a prevention
(21:44):
aspect into, like, the educationworld.
Like I'm a product of there.
Only thing I remember aboutthere is the T-shirt.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Like you know what I mean.
I don't even remember theacronym, Like you know what I
mean.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
I don't even know what it means.
Dots.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
I just remember the T-shirt right and I think that
at this day and age it's real,it's affecting everybody.
The degree of separation issmall.
It used to be my neighbor'skid's, son's boyfriend or
girlfriend.
They're doing whatever right.
Now it's my kid, like.
The degree of separation is sosmall now you can bring it up in
(22:21):
conversation and it's not alike what's it?
Speaker 1 (22:25):
something of bacon, like the 12, but yeah, it's
seven degrees, five degrees,whatever it is Of bacon right,
wow, something it's literallylike.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
it's one of those like scenarios where it's just
it's there.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
It's my kid or my sister, or my aunt and my
neighbor oh, my mom, yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
Yeah, yeah, you just gotta.
It's something that needs to betalked about and it's sort of
they're getting to the pointwhere people are getting to the
point where they're comfortablehaving a conversation, but
there's still a lot of the well,not my kid, listen.
I did not grow up in a badneighborhood.
I did not come from Brooklynhome, had everything I ever
(23:03):
needed, went to private schooland I still ended up here.
You know what I mean.
So it's not, it doesn't careabout any of that.
The goal is just to educatekids of the dangers, of what
drug use and substance use cando to you, and just so you have
that information.
At the end of the day, thedecision is always gonna be
(23:24):
theirs, but if they have thatinformation, maybe they might
decide not to.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Yeah, and then if we can prevent, there's no need for
a child to have to recover.
You know what I mean.
At one of the establishment Iworked, I used to work on the
adolescent unit and I would seethose young individuals that
would come in there strugglingand hurting.
Thank goodness, man, thankgoodness for that, for the
ability to be able to providesomething to the community.
(23:51):
I don't know, like Truckson PipMoyer Center, right, pip Moyer
Center is the base In Annapolishere.
Yeah, we provide a lot ofinformation there.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
And I think that's one of the things.
You're not just education andawareness.
Part of the prevention is hey,we're having a softball game, a
baseball game, we're having funand not using, and we're in the
community and we're in the citywhen it's us.
You guys are mentors, but it'salso like all stars, right.
(24:22):
I mean, the mayor is playingtoo.
We're not in denial of this andwe can enjoy life without this,
and that's example ofprevention.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Yeah, I wanna go back to what Newton said earlier
which has been on my mind, aboutyour mission statement I don't
know if I'm remembering itcorrectly about something about
giving people a chance to changetheir lives, and in the spirit
of the Recovery Awareness Month,I mean change is a very
powerful concept because I wasstuck in addiction.
People are stuck in addictionbecause they don't believe that
(24:55):
change is possible.
So I like that idea a lot.
Yeah, I wanna hear from youguys about from your experience
with this foundation, but alsolike a message to people out
there who think that there's nochange is possible.
Yeah, I just wanna focus ourattention on that a little bit,
about the idea of change,because recovery is all about
change, you know, and growth.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
Change is definitely possible.
Then, when you were saying that, I think about a passage in the
basic text right here and ittalks about what recovery is and
it says that recovery is anactive change of ideas,
attitudes and behaviors.
For me personally, all of thosethings had to change.
All of those things had tochange, and how I learned to
(25:40):
change them was connecting withother people that were also
making that change, had alreadymade those changes.
I needed to learn right.
I needed to learn that a lot ofthe stuff that I was feeling
was normal was a big thing forme, that I didn't have to be
afraid of what I was feeling,that the direction that I wanted
(26:02):
to go with my life was possiblefor me to go.
It led me to Recovery AwarenessFoundation and led me here to
this chair.
There is an individual outthere that is struggling and
suffering from the disease ofaddiction.
There are many avenues and manyresources that you can utilize
that can help you, many peoplethat can guide you.
(26:22):
You just gotta be willing to behonest.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Everything that you guys have mentioned, all the
activities, that is veryempowering because, like you
were talking about, I wannabelieve in change.
But if I'm just doing it bymyself, the world is a very
scary place and I don't wannainteract with people.
But if there is like a way torelate and you talk about that
too like ability to connect withother people, when that is done
it's not me anymore, it's aboutthe power of the group and
(26:49):
that's very inspiring and, yeah,life in recovery should be that
way.
Otherwise I'm just sober and dryand depressed.
But if there are activitiesthat you guys were doing, so
many things that connect peoplewith each other, then life is
meaningful and moving forward.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
I was gonna say.
I think another thing that wetry to do is we try to do that
with no judgment andcondemnation.
Individuals are in recoverywhen they say they are, so
there's no good judgment rightLike, just like there is a sense
of intimacy and vulnerabilitywhen we're having these
(27:27):
conversations, sense ofrelatability and with all of
those things, trust is built.
And when you can build trustwith an individual, they are
more likely to listen and beopen to the suggestions or the
help that you may be able tolike, personally, you may be
able to give them.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I think that's one reason why you guys are still
living your vision and mission.
Yes, you guys have the advocacy, which is such a powerful tool
for change, the advocacy but youguys have this peer support
element to this whole nonprofitthat you guys give to give your
(28:11):
experiences the powers in ourexperiences.
It's not just giving themawareness.
You get to connect to thesepeople.
You know what it's like to beright where they were at,
whether it's treatment for the15th time, fifth time, first
time, whatever it is.
That peer support connection ispowerful.
And I've always said I've alwaysbeen able to do what I do yes,
(28:33):
professionally is because beingable to help one person and that
person helps another person,another person, another person
hey, man, I'm good, I'm golden.
If I can potentially help oneperson help themselves, I'm good
man.
I don't need to change astadium, if you will, to feel
like I need to make change.
And you guys can do that in thepeer support level or at a not
(28:56):
my child event FBC around hereor an all star game, you name it
.
That you guys have touchedevery element of change and
advocacy, which is just cool.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
Yeah, as you guys already know, addiction is all
about putting walls around meand blocking everything and in
isolation.
But recovery is all aboutputting those walls down and
that's also more possible whenthere is a lifeness going on,
because I think about peopledifferently now.
But I used to be so afraid ofpeople, but now I love people
(29:32):
because I can get theinformation about recovery, how
to stay sober, stuff like that.
But it doesn't mean anythingunless I see it in people.
So you guys are keeping italive with the awareness about
inaction by activities and justshowing up.
And there's something very realabout human connection, like
(29:52):
when somebody is sober andsomebody who has been through
what I'm going through, when youconnect with that person,
something is communicated.
You don't even have to sayanything.
There is that deep connectionand then that really helps put
those walls down for somebodywho's struggling that, oh yeah,
this person looks like he knowswhat I'm feeling and then change
(30:13):
becomes a little more possible.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
I'm going to ask this question.
You guys have been doing thisfor a lot of years, putting in a
lot of work, a lot of free timeand work.
Why do you guys still do this?
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Service, service.
You know, when I finally made adecision, you all were talking
about that willingness in thebeginning, right, and like, when
my willingness and my desire todo something different aligned,
right, I started doing that.
I got around some individualsthat would teach me how to do
(30:53):
that and I started this processand I struggled and then you
went to this process, I enteredthis process and I'm learning
all of these things, right, andthen I get to the end of one of
these processes and I realizedthat it's all about service,
(31:16):
it's all about me giving ofmyself what I have learned to
other people around me and like,in my community, man, like it's
so important that individualswill maneuver in those dark
places to try to connect withsome individuals.
Man, because, like, I drivepast a spot every day, right,
(31:39):
and it's a young lady that sitson a street out here and I talk
to her almost every day and Ijust ask her just like you ready
, just talking to her all thetime?
You ready?
No, not yet You're ready, mepersonally.
I Don't know of any otherindividual that's trying to like
(32:02):
, communicate with that person,right, and just let them know
that somebody is here.
They have my number.
I've gotten out the car andstood there and I'm not saying
that to like, say like, oh, I'mdoing all this in the community,
but somebody has to and I'm notafraid to do that.
(32:23):
And In recovery awarenessfoundation and Andrew, for y'all
, sauce is just another way,another Avenue that we can do
that for this community, becauseI got to give it a way to keep
it right and I have been givenso much.
I have been given so much and Iwill never forget that.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Newton same question all the sweat equity.
Why do you keep doing it?
I?
Speaker 4 (32:52):
Don't even feel.
Like I Don't know what wesigned up for.
Like I don't know, I don't likeI don't think of it as any kind
of inconvenience.
I don't think of it any like.
Like I don't want someone tohave to deal with what I do with
.
Like we wanted to createsomething that would eliminate
(33:13):
Someone that's asking for helpnot getting it.
I was willing to make a bunchphone calls.
Someone else might not be thatwilling, right, it's crazy.
Like that I mean over, sincewe've been doing it for a Few
years now.
Like I don't know, I don't bringit up.
I got I don't bring it uppeople to bring it up and be
(33:33):
like Like a these that he doeswrath or he does he does
recovery awareness foundation.
I'm like yeah, I don't, likeI'm, it's not actually I have a
story, right.
So I actually I don't rememberwho it was, but I ran into
someone and I had on a raffshirt and they just walked up to
(33:54):
me like oh my god, like thoseguys that that group, like they
helped me get into a spot, likeI needed it.
I was trying to get into aplace on a treatment and they
helped me get in the spot.
I was like that's awesome.
I just had a regularconversation with another.
Recovered at it, just aboutlike that's awesome, so what
he's gonna do now.
So, like it's.
(34:15):
It's almost like the like, thepremise of just try to help
somebody and don't get caught.
I love it, like you know.
I mean, try to help somebody,don't get caught doing it.
Right, so selflessness yeah justout of the way, like when, like
when we were in the beginning,when we were given scholarships,
(34:38):
we would always like just posta picture on social media of us
giving a scholarship and peopleused to be like oh, that's who
you helped?
Absolutely not.
That is the person that directswherever we are helping.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
Yeah, like they're the car, they're the next
conduit to help the person.
Speaker 4 (34:57):
It's the house manager or the director of the
facility that we're helping themthrough right, because
obviously there's channels wherethe funds have to go to To make
sure the funds are sure applywhere they need to be applied,
right.
So, like our like, the mainthing it's just If we can't help
(35:20):
, we will help.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
It's so neat that the impact really the impact goes
beyond the individual.
It affects the family, itaffects the community, it
affects, just keeps going.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
As you to, as both of you are answering Luke's
question.
It makes me think about theconcept of the idea of lifting
up the spirit, that that's alsohow I feel when I help other
people, that because our spiritare always like going through
emotions right, there aresometimes when my spirit is the
flame is almost die.
You know, but then when youconnect with people that you
have help or that you meansomething, the spirit is lifted
(35:55):
up and we live for those momentswhen things get tough.
You know, and I have a friend inrecovery.
He was like almost dying of aterminal illness and he was in
the hospital and his wife hasalready Made an announcement on
social media that this is a timecome say goodbye.
And then I had a breakfast withhis individual a couple of
weeks ago and he was telling methat story again, that he
(36:18):
thought he was dying but then agood friend of His, who's been
in recovery with him for a longtime, came and said hi to him
but like, when he came in, hejust saw him in these eyes and
his spirit lifted up.
And that's exactly the wordsthat he used, that his spirit
lifted up and and he's alivetoday.
You know, it's just so crazyagain, like these are like
(36:38):
unseen things, like we cannotreally see it by, like we can
feel it.
And that's what I'm hearingfrom your answer to that.
You keep doing this because itlifts your spirit up.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
Yeah this is awesome.
Thank you guys for joining us.
Is there anything that maybe wehaven't touched on, that you
guys want to mention?
Speaker 4 (36:57):
I can mention two things.
Give it to us the 30th of thismonth is Believe the you guys,
you could call it the third,fifth annual.
Nothing.
We lost two years with COVID,right, lost two years of COVID,
so we couldn't do it.
So we're having the I guess,third able tattoos for a cause
(37:21):
over in a insincerable at InkDye Studio and this.
That that's actually gonna be apretty huge event over on that
side of the bridge.
Yeah, they're basicallyshutting down downtown center.
Well, I have, I think so far,almost like 30 or 40 vendors,
(37:42):
three live bands, dj, obviouslythere'll be tattoos, bunch of
guest artists, so that's gonnabe a good time.
That's another free event.
And then we have a drugeducation awareness festival on
October 14th at Pitmoir, righthere in Annapolis.
(38:04):
That's another free communityevent where we'll have Food,
music, celebrity softball game,soccer clinic, basketball clinic
.
Napa's blues will be out theredoing a clinic.
Yep, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
That's really it, and we'll be sure to put all that
into the notes of this andYouTube, as well as the podcast
platform that you're listening.
One will put all this in thenotes.
Well, we appreciate it ifsomeone wants to donate directly
to recovery awarenessfoundation how they do so.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
I would say the easiest way would be just
Through Facebook, our Facebookpage or our website websites,
probably the easiest.
So it's just recovery awarenessfoundation not work.
And let me get help, give help.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Get help, give help, and we'll put that in the
episode notes too.
And if you, if you want it eveneasier, we've got a donate
button on our Podcast.
If you donate on this episodethat you're listening to, it'll
say literally donate or supportthe podcast.
Not only will we give it, wemight even just match it.
(39:22):
So Donate, guys.
Donate, anything will do, will,will match, unless you guys are
really doing, then we might capit.
Speaker 4 (39:31):
We appreciate the support absolutely.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
I do have one concluding question for both Sam
and Newton, for for myself andalso for the listeners too,
because you guys are very busyand stay very active and I don't
know if it's your experience tosometimes Peep.
I get people out, you know,like being with people is great,
list my spirit out, but alsothere are times where I get so
wiped out.
So are there things that helpsyou decompress or what do you
(39:56):
guys do to fuel it back?
Other things that helps youguys unwind or do you guys deal
with like burnout or anything?
Speaker 3 (40:04):
me.
I Always, I'm always movingright.
I Physical activity Was verygood for me.
A box I meditate, I don't.
Just every time I can, I spendtime with my family.
You know me, they are, they'remy glue.
(40:28):
You know what I mean.
Like they, you know, they're,they're my glue, you know.
So I mean, do I think for me,like a lot of physical activity
and Staying in contact withindividuals, oh, that know me,
(40:51):
that are not afraid to hurt myfeelings and be honest with me,
is very important, right, causeI can center myself with
somebody that's likehypersensitive, right?
So like sometimes I need to.
I definitely need somebody tojust be honest with me and hold
(41:12):
me accountable.
You know what I mean, I don'tknow Knowing.
Luckily I have people that arewilling to do that, you know.
So physical activity, justtrying my best to stay in the
groove of my own, like personalrecovery.
Speaker 4 (41:31):
So I have a one year old right, she just turned one
and like, anytime I'm with her,I'm like everything's good, Like
it's not, everything's good,Like anything that's bad is
going on or anything that isit's all just good.
(41:54):
Like it's not even, like Idon't know I could be having the
worst week or the worst fewdays, and then that just makes
it all better.
Like it's not.
It literally just won't show me, like it's not nothing as bad
as it seems.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
It all will be okay.
Don't confuse tired eyes witheyes of bliss.
They look similar, but she'scool.
Speaker 4 (42:22):
Like she just she's a good baby, she just hangs out.
It's like unconditional love,man.
She does it's, it is fan.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Isn't it?
Speaker 4 (42:34):
It's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Great teachers, aren't they?
Speaker 4 (42:36):
Yeah, I play softball a few nights a week and that's
really it.
I play softball and my daughterand then like I'm usually at
work quite a bit, so usually theday's off is when try to get
some foundation stuff in.
We have some things that weneed to drop off or stuff like
(42:57):
that.
Try to get that stuff done andit's all good.
80% of my day could be trash,but that 20% like if I just come
home and just relax and getback in the remember when it's
not that bad, that's right.
Natitude, gratitude, baby, youknow what I mean.
(43:19):
It's not that bad Like I've had.
I've had bad days that are baddays Right A bad day and a job
that I've been able to hold,that I have retirement in and I
have like you know what I meanLike luxury problems.
We gotta just remember.
It's like if I didn't get clean, literally none of this would
(43:42):
be possible, Like there's noteven a little gray area.
I know for a fact I would havenothing that I have right now if
I didn't change the way I wasliving.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
Some beautiful perspective, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (43:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:57):
Thank you.
That's a really good message,and I love that message because
what I'm hearing is that wewanna live a life that is worth
living for and we can make itthat way.
I think that's a really goodmessage for this month as well,
because, yeah, when I was deepin my addiction that I didn't
feel that way.
It's not worth it, but it isworth it.
Speaker 3 (44:16):
Yes, it is no matter where you are.
Speaker 2 (44:19):
So, yeah, I really appreciate this conversation and
really appreciate what you guysdo for the community.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
Thank, you Appreciate it and thank you guys for
kicking us off this month and myperspective is you guys aren't
recovery, you're recovery actionfoundation.
You guys are doing things.
So thank you, thank you guysfor doing that.
We appreciate it.
Thanks for having us as we drawthis episode to a close.
The Essence of RecoveryAwareness Month radiates like a
(44:47):
beacon of hope.
Guided by the dedicatedleadership of Newton and Sam,
the Recovery Awareness or ActionFoundation paves a path of hope
, light transformation forindividuals and communities
navigating the intricate terrainof recovery and the weeks ahead
.
We continue our journey ofillumination as we delve into
part two of the series NationalSuicide Prevention Week next
(45:08):
week.
Just as Recovery AwarenessMonth unites us in celebrating
resilience, the upcoming weekserves as a powerful reminder of
our shared responsibility to bethere for one another, even in
the darkest of moments.
Let's remember that every voicematters, every active
compassion counts and togetherwe can bring about
transformation and change.
Stay tuned for another episodethat explores the power of unity
(45:31):
, empathy and reaching out as ahelping hand.
Thank you for being part of thecollective mission for health,
understanding and renewal.
My name is Luke DeBooy.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
I'm Zell.
Thank you all for this name.
Speaker 1 (45:42):
See you next week.
Thanks guys.
Welcome to A Therapist of Buddhists and you a
collective solution to allthings health and wellness,
brought to you by the RecoveryCollective in Annapolis,
Maryland.
This is a special episode thatmarks a commencement of our
impactful four-part seriesdedicated to the heart and
essence of National RecoveryMonth.
Imagine a month where wecollectively shine a light on
stories of transformation,strength and resilience.
(00:25):
A time when we honor thejourneys of those battling
against the currents ofaddiction and mental health
challenges, emerging victorious.
I'm Luke DeBoy, and here withCoho Zommant.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Hey Luke, what's happening?
Speaker 1 (00:37):
We'll be to our guests here in a minute and for
people listening on podcastplatform, there is a video today
, so feel free to jump onYouTube.
National Recovery Month wasborn in 1989.
Isn't just a time on thecalendar, it's a powerful
movement and it's an embodimentof hope, strength and change.
Every September, thisobservance unites us in
promoting evidence-basedtreatment, celebrating the
(00:59):
immense power of recoverycommunities and saluting the
tireless dedication of serviceproviders who paved the way for
life to be rebuilt.
In fact, I don't know if youknew this, but over 20 million
Americans age 12 and olderstruggled with substance use
disorder in 2020 alone 20million.
In the midst of this starkreality, the significance of
(01:19):
Recovery Month, guided by theSubstance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administrationwe'll call it SAMHSA from here
on becomes even more poignant.
Through the years, samhsa haschosen September as a platform
to unveil initiatives andfunding that elevate mental
health and addiction recovery,while partnering with both
private and public entities tochampion those individuals who,
(01:40):
day by day, forge paths tolong-term recovery.
It's about acknowledging thevictories, the setbacks and the
indomitable spirit that makesthe journey to reclaiming life.
And today, in the spirit ofthis remarkable observance, we
are honored Zell and I arehonored to welcome the
co-founders of the RecoveryAwareness Foundation, newton
(02:01):
Gentry and Sam Alston, twoindividuals whose commitment to
this cause is a testament to thepower of collective healing,
through their tireless efforts,their bridging gaps, dismantling
stigma and fostering a cultureof support.
Welcome guys, thanks forjoining us, thanks for having us
.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Thanks for kicking us off for the first part of the
Recovery Awareness.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Month yeah welcome.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
This is fun.
I'm really in the name, so howcould we not have you guys here
first Recovery AwarenessFoundation, for sure.
So thanks for joining us.
So, if you don't mind, share usthe journey that led to your
guys' creation of the RecoveryAwareness Foundation.
Kick us off.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Okay.
So I guess the whole premisebehind it, what sort of
initiated it, was my personalexperience trying to get clean.
So basically, when I was tryingto get clean I was caught up
and I'm like, okay, I got tocome to treatment before I
relapsed and I already knew Ineeded to figure out a way to
(03:01):
get back.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I knew where I needed to be right.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
In the cycle of suck Right.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
So now I'm locked and loaded, so I'm just like I'm in
a hotel.
I'm up in Baltimore.
I'm like, oh my God, I need tofigure something out.
So literally probably at thevery beginning of the relapse, I
just start calling treatmentcenters, like I'm calling one to
Florida, everywhere, all ofthem down these coasts, calling
treatment centers, and all ofthem are just like we need five
grand, we need three grand, weneed this, we need that.
(03:29):
I'm like, dude, if I had thatkind of money right now, you're
the thing I'd be calling youLike.
Let's be honest, right?
So eventually I ended up findinga spot after I put myself
through a little more pain,right, and end up at a treatment
facility that took stateinsurance.
And when I got out and got myfeet on him, we started just
getting back into the groove ofthings.
I literally was just like Imean, it would be pretty cool,
(03:53):
just start just like afoundation that just had a big
pot of money to help peoplewhenever they wanted to get help
, right, and basically, baskingoff my personal experience, I
was like, okay, if someone callsa treatment center, that might
be like their amount ofwillingness that they're able to
present at that moment, right,sure man.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
We're in it.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
So they present that and someone calls them like,
yeah, we're going to need fivegrand Next thing, you know, they
might just be like well, fuckit.
Like okay, yeah, you know whatI mean?
The big, big, big plan would bejust to literally have be a
resource like nationwide, thatif someone comes and calls and
(04:35):
they don't have the financialability where somebody can call
that can help them, so thatwillingness can turn into an
opportunity, right, and that'swhere our mission statement
comes from Just giving anyonethe opportunity to change your
life and just giving you achance.
Without a chance, there's theother result, right.
So that's sort of the premiseof why we started it.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
There's a need, and then you provided a resource.
Yeah, commendable, powerful.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
So the crazier thing was that when we were trying to
pick a name, I'm just on Googlelike just typing in names and I
swear to God, like this isprobably like the eighth name.
I got to the eighth name.
We got to Recovery AwarenessFoundation and it's sort of kind
of interesting that RAF andthen resentment, anger and fear,
so it all sort of just ends up.
(05:24):
I'd double it, but like it justended up there, like it wasn't
like a plan to get there, itjust yeah, all just sort of
worked out.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Your resentment and anger and fear sparked something
that you guys help at leasthundreds, right?
I mean that's awesome.
So you sparked the brainchild.
Where'd you come into play, sam?
I was just sitting aroundSitting around in sobriety, I'm
just kidding.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
He called me and told me that he had an idea and you
know we talked a couple of timesabout it and it sounded like a
genius idea.
I had a lot of experience in arecovery community in this area,
so I was.
When he told me I was on board,we scratched the money together
and got a five on one C threeand started moving.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
So you guys turned into a nonprofit.
Take us from there.
What happens next?
You guys, we really want to dothis.
You guys, at this point, have Xamount of time.
Sobriety, give them back.
Your own way.
Had it become to what it istoday?
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Basically starting a five on one C three is not as
Tell the people about it, it'snot, as there's a lot of
passionate listeners out there,right?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Okay, let's say so, there's a way.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
There's.
It's not a gray area, but youcan start a for profit and turn
it into a nonprofit.
Sure, right, and let's gothrough whatever realms you'd
have to go to that way.
But so if you go just organicnonprofit from the beginning, it
can be a little costly.
But I felt like I don't feellike it was that difficult, like
(07:03):
once we just did the thingsthat they required.
It took a little bit longer, itdid cost a little bit more and
at that point the whole goal wasjust like if we get there and
then we move on to the nextthing, like now we can figure
out like we're both able to beproductive members of society,
so both have jobs, so we bothhad income.
(07:24):
It was something that we wereable to facilitate getting it
done.
After that all started, then webegan the plan of okay, so now
we have the idea of what wewanna do.
Now we need to figure out howto get the money Right.
How are we gonna raise somemoney right?
So I participated in a fewdifferent like local recovery
(07:48):
organizations get some network.
There met some people, ended uppartnering with a couple of
different treatment facilitiesand we're able to get some
reputable treatment facilitiesto support us.
So then we were able to putthem on our website as resources
that we had.
(08:08):
That worked with us.
Potential referral optionsCorrect, so we had that, and
then we started.
Our first fundraiser thing waswristbands, and then it went to
t-shirts, sweat shirts.
And then it went to sweatshirtsand literally now we have
different fundraisers.
The sky's a little early on thethings that we've been able to
(08:32):
do, but it started with we had acuts for a cause.
We did free hair cuts, donationonly.
We did tattoos for a cause.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
So what do you mean?
Like hair cuts and tattoos?
Speaker 4 (08:42):
Right, what does that mean?
So the cuts for a cause.
Buddy of ours worked at thebarbershop they had just opened
and I just threw an idea likehey, we should do like a
fundraiser here and try to raisesome money for foundation.
And they were like, okay, let'sdo it.
So then I'm like okay.
(09:03):
So like my mind of commit first, figured out later, type thing
right.
So like I had the idea, I threwit out First person, grabbed
onto it.
So I'm like, okay, so now wegot to figure out the next steps
.
So what we're gonna do?
So find barbers, find food,make flyers If I looked, oh my
(09:24):
God, on my timeline just poppedup like a flyer from the first
cuts for a cause.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
It looks like a two year old baby, and I will say
this like luckily the communitythat we reached out to, the
individual that we reached outto, were more than willing to be
of assistance and help.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
So they donate their time, their services, and then
the person receiving the haircutor the tattoo donates the money
Not partial or all to the RAPfoundation.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Yeah, I think when we were doing, when we did cuts
for a cause, it was a hundredpercent, so a hundred percent of
whatever donations we were ableto raise through the haircuts.
They donated back to us andmight not seem like a lot but
like our first fundraiser, Ithink we raised like 600 bucks,
but literally that 600 buckshelp probably like six or seven
(10:22):
people.
Yeah, like you know what I mean.
So I mean especially being inMaryland, so a lot of there's a
lot of funding sources out, yeah, so like treatment with state
insurance and stuff like that'snot really costing people a lot
of money.
So the main thing for us here,like in our area, is getting
into recovery homes and stepsafter right.
(10:45):
So a lot of it is a lot of ourlike scholarships are giving the
help when people get on theirfeet once they get out.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So you guys are really bootstrapping, starting
from hey, how are you willing tohelp Haircuts?
If I remember correctly, thiswas I know this was years ago
percentage of eating out at arestaurant yeah, part of that
was donated to California PizzaKitchen.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
California Pizza Kitchen pizza with a purpose.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
So you guys were willing to do anything and
everything to get.
So you you some of thispercentage, if not all of it,
donated to a good cause ofpeople getting treatment.
So name some of the things thatthe donations went to.
You've named a couple sobeloved.
What are some?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
of the travel to treatment entrance costs, some
deductibles, a lot of it, a reala lot of it really is getting
people like this somewhere tosleep.
The main thing is like for me,I could go, so like I need to
have somewhere to go, and whenthe opportunity to go to a
(11:50):
recovery house presented itself,Right.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
I can't tell you how many times as whether it was a
case manager, therapist,aftercare coordinator, someone's
willing to go after treatmentto sober living, and they just
don't have the money.
Yeah, man or they don't haveenough money, or family was able
to give them X amount andthey're like, well, I just can't
(12:15):
go.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Right and that was another reason because, like
being in a recovery community,you see the direct need Right,
like you're communicating, andyou also have relationships with
individuals that have that needand they just need something.
And with a lot of the programsout here in Nantarone County,
like you were just saying, likesometimes somebody may not
(12:39):
qualify, somebody may havealready burnt too many bridges
at a particular place, you know,and that that funding source,
those funds, that little bit ofmoney, though, that couple of
dollars, could be a world ofdifference.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
And then the gratitude right.
That avenue of recovery doesn'tclose.
So I think about part of yourBuddhist journey, some of your
Buddhist principles, and whenyou were in that monastery
walking for food.
Are there any parallels in here?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Yeah, a lot.
You know.
What I was going to say is whatyou guys have shared so far is
very inspiring.
First of all, it's like havinga dream and then seeing the
dream come true.
It's what I've heard from yourstory, but also basing it on
your personal experience,especially the part about the
willingness.
I feel like for an addict, thereis the willing.
There's like a very shortwindow for a willingness.
That because you know, in myown experience too, I would do
(13:35):
something and then the universelines up, even in the negative
direction.
I will use something and thensomething else comes up.
But then when I do somethinggood, like I have a desire to
get help, but then if there's abarrier, the window is gone.
I don't want to do it anymore.
Maybe the universe doesn'tsupport it, but your premise is
kind of bridging that gap bymeeting people who have the
(13:55):
willingness, you know, at thatwindow before it's too late.
So so it's really inspiring,because I guess in recovery
literature too, about when themotives are set in the right
place, you know everything isjust, we're just backed up, you
know.
So that's what I'm hearingEverything that comes through.
You guys were supported, sothat's what I'm hearing.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
You guys have been a nonprofit foundation for how
long now?
Since 2018.
Yeah, I remember working in thetreatment field how these would
tell people if you do what'sbest for your recovery, if
you're willing to do what's bestfor your recovery, somehow it
works out.
It may not work out the way youwant it to, but if you do
(14:41):
what's best for your recovery, Ipromise you will work out.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
And there's some times where they had that if you
compare it to 12 steps thatthat willingness, that surrender
, and then, because they werewilling and there may have been
one or two times, I had you guysin my back pocket.
That was like you know, theydidn't think they had any chance
of good or sober living, butbecause they were willing, now I
knew sometimes there's aresource available, you know.
(15:07):
So that's, it's powerful.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Through the whole play, like just to be available.
Yeah, like you know what I mean.
So like the whole premise of itwas like, just in its simplest
form, raise a ton of money andgive it away.
Like that's literally thepremise Raise money and help
people.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Yeah, it's awesome.
In addition to money andhelping with whether it's
inpatient, outpatient, soberliving, co-pays, things like
that you guys raise awareness.
What are some ways that youguys have done that over the
years?
Because as creative as you guysgot with literally giving
people tattoos and donations tohair cuts, to a percentage of
(15:53):
pizza goes to you got creative.
In that way, you guys havegotten creative in terms of
raising awareness.
What are some of the waysyou've done that over the years?
Speaker 3 (16:03):
We partnered with a group called Drug Free All Stars
and we have been.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
You said Drug Free All Stars.
Drug Free All Stars.
You gotta tell the people whatthat means.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Drug Free All Stars is an organization that started
in 1992.
Yeah, 1992.
Early 90s that was just goingaround a country promoting drug
prevention.
So we linked up with themapproximately four years ago and
we have been putting onoutreach what do you call them?
Speaker 4 (16:37):
Outreach celebrations every year yeah, community
events yeah, just different kindof community events just to get
kids.
Community parents.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
For example what?
Speaker 4 (16:49):
What are?
Speaker 1 (16:49):
some of the events, we almost call it a celebration.
You don't correlate Most peopledon't correlate drug awareness
education.
Just say no Dare program rightTo a drug free celebration.
What do you mean?
Speaker 3 (17:03):
by that what I meant was we opened the doors to the
community to come andparticipate in celebrity
softball games.
Okay, I mean not celebrity, buthey, you're there, sam.
We did the math, my God, we didthe mayor versus drug free
(17:24):
all-star softball game when themayor picked the team.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
So you've got people in recovery on one team and
you've got people doing policiesand representing everything
that the mayor does when they'reon the team.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah, Pretty much yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
That seems like a celebration.
That's what.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
I'm saying we opened the door for individuals in the
community to just come get anabundance of resources from
different organizations andentities in Adderondo County.
Just celebrate man Food fun.
It's cool.
We got a little sports clinic,soccer clinics and all that
(18:04):
stuff going on At DJ and we goout there and we just have a
good time.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
So recently you guys connected with the soccer team.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
Yeah, we did the part of the Napples Blues.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
What do you do there?
You just raise awareness at thesoccer games, yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Soccer is a huge community.
It's a community that is inevery demographic right.
So when the Napples Blues cameto Annapolis, basically our I
don't know what you would callit, Gerard, but our liaison.
So a quick backstory.
(18:42):
Gerard started Drug Free AllStars in the early 90s, right
Gotcha, and in the early 90sthey did all sorts of stuff like
we was talking about goingacross the country.
They did it as high assponsoring the All Star game,
the Camden Yards, when I washere, Like Brooks Robinson at
Anymary, were honorary Drug FreeAll Stars.
(19:02):
We have posters and all sorts ofcreative stuff with them on it
articles it was.
It was very, very impressiveand it was pretty cool to see
that back then what he was ableto do with those kind of
resources.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Versus.
Mr Moore was at the highestlevel right.
Speaker 4 (19:24):
Like this is back in the just say no, yeah, so just
to think of that.
And now, where we are now withsocial media, with just
Platforms among platforms, justdifferent platforms, to be able
to just get information topeople.
Like he literally had to driveacross the country.
Yeah, like literally had todrive across the country to
(19:50):
promote it, right, and we couldsit in chairs and talk about it
and it can get as far as wewanted to.
Yeah, like.
You know what I mean.
So when he brought thatorganization to us and he was
like here, you guys, this iswhat I did Sort of gave us a
roadmap on how to be successfulin the prevention effort.
(20:13):
We sort of just took it and ranwith it and he has some ideas.
We've had some ideas and sort ofcoming together to do the it's
called the Drug Education andAwareness Sporting Festival.
A lot of words, but like theseare all the different things
that are taking place there,right?
So you have treatments in thisarea, you have city resources
there, you have healthdepartment.
(20:34):
Like you have a variety ofdifferent resources.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
All aspects of health and wellness right Correct
right.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
So we have all these aspects.
We have a basketball clinic, wehave a soccer clinic, we have
the softball game, as wementioned, free food it's a free
community event, right?
So we want the whole goal is toget as many kids there as
possible and provide them withjust information.
So at the end of the day, thewhole plan is opportunity to
(21:02):
present itself to a kid and thekid just has a little bit of
information and he makes thedecision not to right In itself,
drug Free All-Services is acomplete success, like, because
the whole goal is just to givethe information so that they
know, instead of the why don'tknow, let me try aspect, or I
(21:23):
don't know, so never heard aboutit.
So what's the worst that couldhappen?
Right, that was a big thingwith Drug Free All-Services.
Like the goal would eventuallybe to my brain works one way.
So the goal would be to be ableto implement like a prevention
(21:44):
aspect into, like, the educationworld.
Like I'm a product of there.
Only thing I remember aboutthere is the T-shirt.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Like you know what I mean.
I don't even remember theacronym, Like you know what I
mean.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
I don't even know what it means.
Dots.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
I just remember the T-shirt right and I think that
at this day and age it's real,it's affecting everybody.
The degree of separation issmall.
It used to be my neighbor'skid's, son's boyfriend or
girlfriend.
They're doing whatever right.
Now it's my kid, like.
The degree of separation is sosmall now you can bring it up in
(22:21):
conversation and it's not alike what's it?
Speaker 1 (22:25):
something of bacon, like the 12, but yeah, it's
seven degrees, five degrees,whatever it is Of bacon right,
wow, something it's literallylike.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
it's one of those like scenarios where it's just
it's there.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
It's my kid or my sister, or my aunt and my
neighbor oh, my mom, yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
Yeah, yeah, you just gotta.
It's something that needs to betalked about and it's sort of
they're getting to the pointwhere people are getting to the
point where they're comfortablehaving a conversation, but
there's still a lot of the well,not my kid, listen.
I did not grow up in a badneighborhood.
I did not come from Brooklynhome, had everything I ever
(23:03):
needed, went to private schooland I still ended up here.
You know what I mean.
So it's not, it doesn't careabout any of that.
The goal is just to educatekids of the dangers, of what
drug use and substance use cando to you, and just so you have
that information.
At the end of the day, thedecision is always gonna be
(23:24):
theirs, but if they have thatinformation, maybe they might
decide not to.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Yeah, and then if we can prevent, there's no need for
a child to have to recover.
You know what I mean.
At one of the establishment Iworked, I used to work on the
adolescent unit and I would seethose young individuals that
would come in there strugglingand hurting.
Thank goodness, man, thankgoodness for that, for the
ability to be able to providesomething to the community.
(23:51):
I don't know, like Truckson PipMoyer Center, right, pip Moyer
Center is the base In Annapolishere.
Yeah, we provide a lot ofinformation there.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
And I think that's one of the things.
You're not just education andawareness.
Part of the prevention is hey,we're having a softball game, a
baseball game, we're having funand not using, and we're in the
community and we're in the citywhen it's us.
You guys are mentors, but it'salso like all stars, right.
(24:22):
I mean, the mayor is playingtoo.
We're not in denial of this andwe can enjoy life without this,
and that's example ofprevention.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Yeah, I wanna go back to what Newton said earlier
which has been on my mind, aboutyour mission statement I don't
know if I'm remembering itcorrectly about something about
giving people a chance to changetheir lives, and in the spirit
of the Recovery Awareness Month,I mean change is a very
powerful concept because I wasstuck in addiction.
People are stuck in addictionbecause they don't believe that
(24:55):
change is possible.
So I like that idea a lot.
Yeah, I wanna hear from youguys about from your experience
with this foundation, but alsolike a message to people out
there who think that there's nochange is possible.
Yeah, I just wanna focus ourattention on that a little bit,
about the idea of change,because recovery is all about
change, you know, and growth.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
Change is definitely possible.
Then, when you were saying that, I think about a passage in the
basic text right here and ittalks about what recovery is and
it says that recovery is anactive change of ideas,
attitudes and behaviors.
For me personally, all of thosethings had to change.
All of those things had tochange, and how I learned to
(25:40):
change them was connecting withother people that were also
making that change, had alreadymade those changes.
I needed to learn right.
I needed to learn that a lot ofthe stuff that I was feeling
was normal was a big thing forme, that I didn't have to be
afraid of what I was feeling,that the direction that I wanted
(26:02):
to go with my life was possiblefor me to go.
It led me to Recovery AwarenessFoundation and led me here to
this chair.
There is an individual outthere that is struggling and
suffering from the disease ofaddiction.
There are many avenues and manyresources that you can utilize
that can help you, many peoplethat can guide you.
(26:22):
You just gotta be willing to behonest.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Everything that you guys have mentioned, all the
activities, that is veryempowering because, like you
were talking about, I wannabelieve in change.
But if I'm just doing it bymyself, the world is a very
scary place and I don't wannainteract with people.
But if there is like a way torelate and you talk about that
too like ability to connect withother people, when that is done
it's not me anymore, it's aboutthe power of the group and
(26:49):
that's very inspiring and, yeah,life in recovery should be that
way.
Otherwise I'm just sober and dryand depressed.
But if there are activitiesthat you guys were doing, so
many things that connect peoplewith each other, then life is
meaningful and moving forward.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
I was gonna say.
I think another thing that wetry to do is we try to do that
with no judgment andcondemnation.
Individuals are in recoverywhen they say they are, so
there's no good judgment rightLike, just like there is a sense
of intimacy and vulnerabilitywhen we're having these
(27:27):
conversations, sense ofrelatability and with all of
those things, trust is built.
And when you can build trustwith an individual, they are
more likely to listen and beopen to the suggestions or the
help that you may be able tolike, personally, you may be
able to give them.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I think that's one reason why you guys are still
living your vision and mission.
Yes, you guys have the advocacy, which is such a powerful tool
for change, the advocacy but youguys have this peer support
element to this whole nonprofitthat you guys give to give your
(28:11):
experiences the powers in ourexperiences.
It's not just giving themawareness.
You get to connect to thesepeople.
You know what it's like to beright where they were at,
whether it's treatment for the15th time, fifth time, first
time, whatever it is.
That peer support connection ispowerful.
And I've always said I've alwaysbeen able to do what I do yes,
(28:33):
professionally is because beingable to help one person and that
person helps another person,another person, another person
hey, man, I'm good, I'm golden.
If I can potentially help oneperson help themselves, I'm good
man.
I don't need to change astadium, if you will, to feel
like I need to make change.
And you guys can do that in thepeer support level or at a not
(28:56):
my child event FBC around hereor an all star game, you name it
.
That you guys have touchedevery element of change and
advocacy, which is just cool.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
Yeah, as you guys already know, addiction is all
about putting walls around meand blocking everything and in
isolation.
But recovery is all aboutputting those walls down and
that's also more possible whenthere is a lifeness going on,
because I think about peopledifferently now.
But I used to be so afraid ofpeople, but now I love people
(29:32):
because I can get theinformation about recovery, how
to stay sober, stuff like that.
But it doesn't mean anythingunless I see it in people.
So you guys are keeping italive with the awareness about
inaction by activities and justshowing up.
And there's something very realabout human connection, like
(29:52):
when somebody is sober andsomebody who has been through
what I'm going through, when youconnect with that person,
something is communicated.
You don't even have to sayanything.
There is that deep connectionand then that really helps put
those walls down for somebodywho's struggling that, oh yeah,
this person looks like he knowswhat I'm feeling and then change
(30:13):
becomes a little more possible.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
I'm going to ask this question.
You guys have been doing thisfor a lot of years, putting in a
lot of work, a lot of free timeand work.
Why do you guys still do this?
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Service, service.
You know, when I finally made adecision, you all were talking
about that willingness in thebeginning, right, and like, when
my willingness and my desire todo something different aligned,
right, I started doing that.
I got around some individualsthat would teach me how to do
(30:53):
that and I started this processand I struggled and then you
went to this process, I enteredthis process and I'm learning
all of these things, right, andthen I get to the end of one of
these processes and I realizedthat it's all about service,
(31:16):
it's all about me giving ofmyself what I have learned to
other people around me and like,in my community, man, like it's
so important that individualswill maneuver in those dark
places to try to connect withsome individuals.
Man, because, like, I drivepast a spot every day, right,
(31:39):
and it's a young lady that sitson a street out here and I talk
to her almost every day and Ijust ask her just like you ready
, just talking to her all thetime?
You ready?
No, not yet You're ready, mepersonally.
I Don't know of any otherindividual that's trying to like
(32:02):
, communicate with that person,right, and just let them know
that somebody is here.
They have my number.
I've gotten out the car andstood there and I'm not saying
that to like, say like, oh, I'mdoing all this in the community,
but somebody has to and I'm notafraid to do that.
(32:23):
And In recovery awarenessfoundation and Andrew, for y'all
, sauce is just another way,another Avenue that we can do
that for this community, becauseI got to give it a way to keep
it right and I have been givenso much.
I have been given so much and Iwill never forget that.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Newton same question all the sweat equity.
Why do you keep doing it?
I?
Speaker 4 (32:52):
Don't even feel.
Like I Don't know what wesigned up for.
Like I don't know, I don't likeI don't think of it as any kind
of inconvenience.
I don't think of it any like.
Like I don't want someone tohave to deal with what I do with
.
Like we wanted to createsomething that would eliminate
(33:13):
Someone that's asking for helpnot getting it.
I was willing to make a bunchphone calls.
Someone else might not be thatwilling, right, it's crazy.
Like that I mean over, sincewe've been doing it for a Few
years now.
Like I don't know, I don't bringit up.
I got I don't bring it uppeople to bring it up and be
(33:33):
like Like a these that he doeswrath or he does he does
recovery awareness foundation.
I'm like yeah, I don't, likeI'm, it's not actually I have a
story, right.
So I actually I don't rememberwho it was, but I ran into
someone and I had on a raffshirt and they just walked up to
(33:54):
me like oh my god, like thoseguys that that group, like they
helped me get into a spot, likeI needed it.
I was trying to get into aplace on a treatment and they
helped me get in the spot.
I was like that's awesome.
I just had a regularconversation with another.
Recovered at it, just aboutlike that's awesome, so what
he's gonna do now.
So, like it's.
(34:15):
It's almost like the like, thepremise of just try to help
somebody and don't get caught.
I love it, like you know.
I mean, try to help somebody,don't get caught doing it.
Right, so selflessness yeah justout of the way, like when, like
when we were in the beginning,when we were given scholarships,
(34:38):
we would always like just posta picture on social media of us
giving a scholarship and peopleused to be like oh, that's who
you helped?
Absolutely not.
That is the person that directswherever we are helping.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
Yeah, like they're the car, they're the next
conduit to help the person.
Speaker 4 (34:57):
It's the house manager or the director of the
facility that we're helping themthrough right, because
obviously there's channels wherethe funds have to go to To make
sure the funds are sure applywhere they need to be applied,
right.
So, like our like, the mainthing it's just If we can't help
(35:20):
, we will help.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
It's so neat that the impact really the impact goes
beyond the individual.
It affects the family, itaffects the community, it
affects, just keeps going.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
As you to, as both of you are answering Luke's
question.
It makes me think about theconcept of the idea of lifting
up the spirit, that that's alsohow I feel when I help other
people, that because our spiritare always like going through
emotions right, there aresometimes when my spirit is the
flame is almost die.
You know, but then when youconnect with people that you
have help or that you meansomething, the spirit is lifted
(35:55):
up and we live for those momentswhen things get tough.
You know, and I have a friend inrecovery.
He was like almost dying of aterminal illness and he was in
the hospital and his wife hasalready Made an announcement on
social media that this is a timecome say goodbye.
And then I had a breakfast withhis individual a couple of
weeks ago and he was telling methat story again, that he
(36:18):
thought he was dying but then agood friend of His, who's been
in recovery with him for a longtime, came and said hi to him
but like, when he came in, hejust saw him in these eyes and
his spirit lifted up.
And that's exactly the wordsthat he used, that his spirit
lifted up and and he's alivetoday.
You know, it's just so crazyagain, like these are like
(36:38):
unseen things, like we cannotreally see it by, like we can
feel it.
And that's what I'm hearingfrom your answer to that.
You keep doing this because itlifts your spirit up.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
Yeah this is awesome.
Thank you guys for joining us.
Is there anything that maybe wehaven't touched on, that you
guys want to mention?
Speaker 4 (36:57):
I can mention two things.
Give it to us the 30th of thismonth is Believe the you guys,
you could call it the third,fifth annual.
Nothing.
We lost two years with COVID,right, lost two years of COVID,
so we couldn't do it.
So we're having the I guess,third able tattoos for a cause
(37:21):
over in a insincerable at InkDye Studio and this.
That that's actually gonna be apretty huge event over on that
side of the bridge.
Yeah, they're basicallyshutting down downtown center.
Well, I have, I think so far,almost like 30 or 40 vendors,
(37:42):
three live bands, dj, obviouslythere'll be tattoos, bunch of
guest artists, so that's gonnabe a good time.
That's another free event.
And then we have a drugeducation awareness festival on
October 14th at Pitmoir, righthere in Annapolis.
(38:04):
That's another free communityevent where we'll have Food,
music, celebrity softball game,soccer clinic, basketball clinic
.
Napa's blues will be out theredoing a clinic.
Yep, that's awesome.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
That's really it, and we'll be sure to put all that
into the notes of this andYouTube, as well as the podcast
platform that you're listening.
One will put all this in thenotes.
Well, we appreciate it ifsomeone wants to donate directly
to recovery awarenessfoundation how they do so.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
I would say the easiest way would be just
Through Facebook, our Facebookpage or our website websites,
probably the easiest.
So it's just recovery awarenessfoundation not work.
And let me get help, give help.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
Get help, give help, and we'll put that in the
episode notes too.
And if you, if you want it eveneasier, we've got a donate
button on our Podcast.
If you donate on this episodethat you're listening to, it'll
say literally donate or supportthe podcast.
Not only will we give it, wemight even just match it.
(39:22):
So Donate, guys.
Donate, anything will do, will,will match, unless you guys are
really doing, then we might capit.
Speaker 4 (39:31):
We appreciate the support absolutely.
Speaker 2 (39:34):
I do have one concluding question for both Sam
and Newton, for for myself andalso for the listeners too,
because you guys are very busyand stay very active and I don't
know if it's your experience tosometimes Peep.
I get people out, you know,like being with people is great,
list my spirit out, but alsothere are times where I get so
wiped out.
So are there things that helpsyou decompress or what do you
(39:56):
guys do to fuel it back?
Other things that helps youguys unwind or do you guys deal
with like burnout or anything?
Speaker 3 (40:04):
me.
I Always, I'm always movingright.
I Physical activity Was verygood for me.
A box I meditate, I don't.
Just every time I can, I spendtime with my family.
You know me, they are, they'remy glue.
(40:28):
You know what I mean.
Like they, you know, they're,they're my glue, you know.
So I mean, do I think for me,like a lot of physical activity
and Staying in contact withindividuals, oh, that know me,
(40:51):
that are not afraid to hurt myfeelings and be honest with me,
is very important, right, causeI can center myself with
somebody that's likehypersensitive, right?
So like sometimes I need to.
I definitely need somebody tojust be honest with me and hold
(41:12):
me accountable.
You know what I mean, I don'tknow Knowing.
Luckily I have people that arewilling to do that, you know.
So physical activity, justtrying my best to stay in the
groove of my own, like personalrecovery.
Speaker 4 (41:31):
So I have a one year old right, she just turned one
and like, anytime I'm with her,I'm like everything's good, Like
it's not, everything's good,Like anything that's bad is
going on or anything that isit's all just good.
(41:54):
Like it's not even, like Idon't know I could be having the
worst week or the worst fewdays, and then that just makes
it all better.
Like it's not.
It literally just won't show me, like it's not nothing as bad
as it seems.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
It all will be okay.
Don't confuse tired eyes witheyes of bliss.
They look similar, but she'scool.
Speaker 4 (42:22):
Like she just she's a good baby, she just hangs out.
It's like unconditional love,man.
She does it's, it is fan.
Speaker 1 (42:33):
Isn't it?
Speaker 4 (42:34):
It's fantastic.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Great teachers, aren't they?
Speaker 4 (42:36):
Yeah, I play softball a few nights a week and that's
really it.
I play softball and my daughterand then like I'm usually at
work quite a bit, so usually theday's off is when try to get
some foundation stuff in.
We have some things that weneed to drop off or stuff like
(42:57):
that.
Try to get that stuff done andit's all good.
80% of my day could be trash,but that 20% like if I just come
home and just relax and getback in the remember when it's
not that bad, that's right.
Natitude, gratitude, baby, youknow what I mean.
(43:19):
It's not that bad Like I've had.
I've had bad days that are baddays Right A bad day and a job
that I've been able to hold,that I have retirement in and I
have like you know what I meanLike luxury problems.
We gotta just remember.
It's like if I didn't get clean, literally none of this would
(43:42):
be possible, Like there's noteven a little gray area.
I know for a fact I would havenothing that I have right now if
I didn't change the way I wasliving.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
Some beautiful perspective, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (43:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:57):
Thank you.
That's a really good message,and I love that message because
what I'm hearing is that wewanna live a life that is worth
living for and we can make itthat way.
I think that's a really goodmessage for this month as well,
because, yeah, when I was deepin my addiction that I didn't
feel that way.
It's not worth it, but it isworth it.
Speaker 3 (44:16):
Yes, it is no matter where you are.
Speaker 2 (44:19):
So, yeah, I really appreciate this conversation and
really appreciate what you guysdo for the community.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
Thank, you Appreciate it and thank you guys for
kicking us off this month and myperspective is you guys aren't
recovery, you're recovery actionfoundation.
You guys are doing things.
So thank you, thank you guysfor doing that.
We appreciate it.
Thanks for having us as we drawthis episode to a close.
The Essence of RecoveryAwareness Month radiates like a
(44:47):
beacon of hope.
Guided by the dedicatedleadership of Newton and Sam,
the Recovery Awareness or ActionFoundation paves a path of hope
, light transformation forindividuals and communities
navigating the intricate terrainof recovery and the weeks ahead
.
We continue our journey ofillumination as we delve into
part two of the series NationalSuicide Prevention Week next
(45:08):
week.
Just as Recovery AwarenessMonth unites us in celebrating
resilience, the upcoming weekserves as a powerful reminder of
our shared responsibility to bethere for one another, even in
the darkest of moments.
Let's remember that every voicematters, every active
compassion counts and togetherwe can bring about
transformation and change.
Stay tuned for another episodethat explores the power of unity
(45:31):
, empathy and reaching out as ahelping hand.
Thank you for being part of thecollective mission for health,
understanding and renewal.
My name is Luke DeBooy.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
I'm Zell.
Thank you all for this name.
Speaker 1 (45:42):
See you next week.
Thanks guys.
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