Help End Addiction for Life, also know as HEAL, in partnership with Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation, Addiction Recovery Care, ARH, and over 40 other local, regional and state organizations, government entities and individuals will host a celebration for addiction recovery called, “Recovery Central”. on Thursday July 25th in Whitesburg.
The event will include educational sessions and a recovery play at Letcher County Central High School, a march for recovery through downtown Whitesburg, over 50 information booths on addiction recovery resources, a free expungement clinic, a free community dinner, the local farmer’s market, giveaways, and a free Levitt Amp Concert!
Anyone in recovery, those seeking help for an addiction, their families, and all who have compassion for substance use recovery are invited.
For more information and a schedule of events visit the HEAL Kentucky Website or email HEAL President Sydney Whitaker at sydney.whitaker@mtncomp.org
HEAL. Heal End Addiction For Life…..coming together to provide hope for a brighter future.
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Message From HEAL President Sydney Whitaker
HEAL, Help End Addiction for Life, is happy to invite everyone to this year’s Recovery Central!
One of Southeastern Kentucky’s newest and most heart-felt events for substance use recovery, Recovery Central is set for July 25th, in Downtown Whitesburg, Kentucky. A day of recovery and hope, Recovery Central empowers those in recovery, educates those who wish to support, and instills the seeds for a brighter future in our communities.
Beginning at 9:00am on July 25th, Recovery Central 2024 will have educational sessions and a play for recovery, “Walking Away”, at the Letcher County Central High School Auditorium. All sessions and the play are open to the public.
Events downtown will begin that afternoon and will include a free expungement clinic and a pop-up ID registration clinic (for those in recovery) at the courthouse, which will be from 1:00pm-3:30pm.
HEAL’s annual march for addiction recovery through Downtown Whitesburg will follow! We encourage everyone to join us in marching for recovery-whether you are in recovery or seeking it, if you love someone in recovery, if you honor the memory of a loved one, or if you just want to show your support as a member of this community. All march participants will receive a FREE Recovery Central t-shirt at the march start point, which will be at the free community parking lot at the beginning of Main Street. The march will gather at 3:30pm and begin at 4:00pm. Following the march, we will have resource booths for recovery, a free community meal, and activities for children at CANE Kitchen from 4:30pm-6:30pm.
That evening at 7:00pm, HEAL will honor several community partners and peers in recovery with HEAL’s Recovery Spotlight, The Phoenix Award, and the Community Partner Award at HEAL’s presentation during the Levitt Amp Concert. This year’s Recovery Spotlight will be with Mr. Joe Hatton and Dr. Johnathan Hatton. The Phoenix Awards will be presented to Heather Moore and Michelle Sandlin, and the Community Partner Award will be presented to Matt Brown of Addiction Recovery Care. The presentation will take place on The Mountain Heritage stage at 7:00pm in Downtown Whitesburg.
HEAL is a community consortium in Whitesburg that seeks to eliminate addiction through empowerment of those in recovery and through community partnership. Founded by MCHC, ARH, and ARC, HEAL has been operational since 2018 and now holds bonds with over 70 community partners. For more information on this event, or to register for the expungement clinic, please visit https://www.healky.org/. We also invite everyone to follow us on Facebook, at https://www.facebook.com/HelpEndAddictionforLife/
For additional questions or to set up as a resource fair vendor, please contact myself, Sydney Whitaker, HEAL President, at sydney.whitaker@mtncomp.org, or 606-633-4871.
Recovery Central welcomes those in recovery, those seeking recovery, their families, and all those in our communities who want to provide their support.
We look forward to celebrating recovery, and we hope you can join us!
Sydney Whitaker
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HEAL Recovery Central Schedule of Events
Letcher County Central High School Auditorium
435 Cougar Dr, Whitesburg, KY 41858.
9:00am-10:00am: Meet Them Where They Are: Addressing the Addiction Crisis In, Then Out, of the Courtroom.
Presenters: Kevin R. Mullins, JD- 47th District Court Judge; Matt Brown-Addiction Recovery Care; Dr. Van Breeding-Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation; Michael Clark-Addiction Recovery Care.
Abstract: For many, a courtroom can feel like the end of the story. But in Eastern Kentucky, walking into a courtroom can provide individuals with the opportunity to start a new chapter. In Letcher County, community stakeholders are collaborating to improve outcomes for justice-involved individuals impacted by substance use and other behavioral health conditions. In this presentation, participants will hear from some of the individuals behind this collaboration and learn the steps you can take to bring these successful programs and initiatives to your own communities.
10:00am-11:00am: Exploring the Sustainability of a Rural Collaborative Community Initiative to Address Opioid Use Disorder: A Case Study.
Presenter: Jenna Meyer RN, BSN, MPH, DrPH(c)
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted essential public health operations and contributed to increasing numbers of opioid overdose deaths (Shreffler et al, 2021). Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a wicked problem that no one sector of a community can address. Rural communities are further challenged by conditions like a lack of infrastructure, a diminishing workforce, and disparities in chronic diseases (Thomas et al., 2020). Cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) are critical to combining resources, coordinating activities, and reducing duplication when tackling complex issues like OUD. This presentation will describe the factors that support the sustainment of collaborative initiatives to address OUD in rural communities and to better understand how the effectiveness of activities is understood. This case study explored how Help End Addiction for Life (HEAL), formed before COVID-19 in rural Kentucky, found ways to sustain activities and build upon existing partnerships that contribute to the prevention and treatment of OUD and determine how an unfunded collaborative measures its effectiveness.
11:00am-12:00pm: Tools, Resources, and Strategies for Building Rural Recovery Ecosystems.
Presenters: Marissa Kluk, MPH, Director of Recovery Ecosystem Alignment and Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, Addiction Science Center, East Tennessee State University; Kevin R. Mullins, JD – Letcher County District Court Judge
Abstract: The Recovery Ecosystem Index (REI) was designed as a tool to measure the strength of rural, county-level recovery ecosystems. Scores range from 1 (strongest) to 5 (weakest) for both the REI total score and each subcomponent. The index and an interactive mapping tool were made publicly available in Fall 2022 to support community partners working to establish or improve recovery ecosystems in their areas. In this session, presenters will share: (1) findings from user focus groups describing how the REI tool can be used to support community planning and recommendations for improving the REI; (2) results from quantitative analyses designed to validate tool outputs by associating REI scores to overdose mortality rates, including maps that show regions where recovery ecosystems remain weak; and (3) an on-the-ground example of how strong recovery ecosystems can affect community outcomes―specifically the example of Letcher County, Kentucky, which has reinvented existing substance use disorder programming to expand services to justice-involved individuals experiencing substance use disorder, and now mental illness, including the establishment of the first Behavioral Health Conditional Dismissal Program.
12:00 pm-1:00pm: Lunch Break
1:00pm-3:00pm: Walking Away-a play for recovery written by Phillip-Charlie Daniell.
Abstract: When a single father is forced to face his own addiction, the impact and toll it
takes on his loved ones becomes a difficult journey for them all, while a recovery counseling team does their best to guide them. The overall theme for Walking Away is how different recovery can be for everyone involved. At times we have to walk away from those we love, something we love, or obvious harmful situations and ideologies. In its simplest form; Walking away from what we don’t need in our lives can lead us to what we do need, and it is much easier with help.
Shuttle will be made available at Letcher County Central High School (LCC) to the Recovery Central location in Downtown Whitesburg. The Shuttle will run from LCC to the Letcher County Courthouse, from 3:00pm-9:00pm.
Downtown Whitesburg:
1:00pm-3:30pm: Free Expungement ClinicLc
Letcher County Courthouse, District Court Room.
156 Main St, Whitesburg, KY 41858.
https://www.healky.org/clinicregistration
1:00pm-3:30pm: ID/Driver’s License Renewal Clinic Registration for those in recovery.
Registration only! A return date will be set to get IDs/Driver’s License.
Letcher County Courthouse, District Court Room.
156 Main St, Whitesburg, KY 41858.
3:30pm: Gather for march in the city parking lot at the beginning of Main Street
Follow the signs!
Free Recovery Central T-shirts will be available!
136 Main St, Whitesburg, KY 41858.
4:15pm: Recovery Central March begins!
4:30pm-6:30pm: Resource booths and recovery oriented information and free community meal at Cane Kitchen.
There will be activities for kids, free giveaways, health checks, and more!
38 College Dr, Whitesburg, KY 41858.
6:30pm: Levitt Amp Concert Series
Mountain Heritage Stage.
7:00pm: HEAL Presentation with Recovery Spotlight and HEAL Awards
421 Main St, Whitesburg, KY 41858.
2024 Phoenix Award Winners: Michelle Sandlin and Heather Moore
2024 Community Partner Award: Matt Brown
For more information, please contact Sydney Whitaker at sydney.whitaker@mtncomp.org, 606-633-4871