ROSC Recovery Walk supports those who are fighting addiction and winning

[October 02, 2023] 

On Saturday September 30th, the Logan/Mason County Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) hosted a recovery walk event at Scully Park in Lincoln. This recovery walk was hosted by Jeanette Davis, a recovery specialist with Logan and Mason Counties’ ROSC. This event was to recognize those who had been lost to addiction, support those who were on the road to recovery, and fight the stigma of addiction in the Lincoln community. People of many ages were in attendance, all having some personal connection to addiction and recovery, with many sharing their grief in losing loved ones to this disease.

Many booths were set up in Scully Park by organizations in support of ROSC’s work. These included Chestnut Health Systems, Memorial Health, Salvation Army, Crime Stoppers, Crossing Healthcare, and Oxford House. The latter of these has recently set up a self-run, self-supported addiction recovery house in Lincoln. Several of the house's new residents were present.

The event started off with Davis calling several people up to a microphone to share their stories of struggle and recovery. A man named Diamond Armstrong got up first to share his story. Armstrong is with Oxford House, a corporation that specializes in opening self-supported addiction recovery houses. Armstrong, a resident of the Oxford House that recently opened in Lincoln, opened up about his struggle with addiction and his process of recovery.

Armstrong shared some of the events in his life that led to his personal experience with addiction. He has had a lot of loss in his life, much of it being attributed to his addiction or the addiction of others in his life. He ultimately decided to focus on recovery and has been clean since August 29, 2021. Armstrong attributes a lot of his success in recovery to the support systems he has had been part of at the Oxford Houses.

After Armstrong finished sharing, Davis introduced the second speaker of the day, Caleb Ballard. Ballard took a different approach than Armstrong, opting to speak more on the grief that comes with losing people to addiction. Ballard went on to share that he has lost many people, but he continues to move forward by listening to other people’s stories and acknowledging their pain. “Getting through struggle helps me appreciate happiness,” Ballard said.

After Ballard spoke, a woman named Samantha was introduced to speak for a few minutes. As Davis introduced her, she shared that Samantha also struggled with addiction in her life but is now a part of Chestnut Health Systems. Samantha shared that she, like Ballard and many others present, lost someone close to her to addiction. She finished speaking by thanking everyone for coming.

Davis then invited anyone who has lost someone to addiction to come forward and announce their name into a microphone. While this happened, Ballard played a soft song on guitar. The people who came forward stood next to each other, supporting one another as they remembered their lost loved ones.

This was followed by a walk to support recovery and reduce the stigma people may have around addiction. Many people may assume addiction is a choice, but through this event, ROSC shared that this is not the case. Addiction takes so much and gives nothing back. People often get caught in a cycle, and when they realize how much they have lost, get lost in addiction again.

Everyone in attendance walked from Scully Park, north on Kickapoo and around the Courthouse. They then walked to and around the Logan County Safety Complex, rounding the block and then returning to Scully Park. Many cars slowed down to allow the group to pass, some even honking their horns in support.

Upon returning, Davis shared that food would be served after their final speaker got up to talk. The final speaker, Danielle, is a Lincoln native who shared a message of hope.

Danielle shared that she used for a very long time before she made the choice to get clean. In the time she was using, she lost custody of her children. Once she got clean, she was able to get custody of her children back as well as have another child. She has been clean since March 1st, 2018, and takes comfort in the fact that she knows she is not alone in her fight for recovery. She also takes pride in the fact that she gets to be a mom to her kids.

Food was then served, which was pulled pork sandwiches sponsored by Lincoln Memorial Hospital with food preparation provided by Blue Dog Steakery.

Before the event was over, Davis had time to answer a couple of questions. When asked how long she has been a part of ROSC, Davis shared she has been with Lincoln and Mason counties’ branch for about two and a half years. Davis also shared that this is also how long ROSC has had a branch in these two counties.

She was then asked what drives her passion for recovery. Davis spent a while answering this question, sharing that part of her passion stems from lived experience with addiction. She wants to fight the stigma around addiction and help people become more open to the idea of recovery. Davis further shared that she is inspired by the people ROSC is able to help. At one of ROSC’s meetings, two of the members who are on the path of recovery talked about how far they had come. They shared they could not believe they were where they were, not only being clean, but also helping people in their community start the path of recovery as well. Davis began to tear up at this point, sharing that she also loves to give people opportunities. She wants to help people become safe places for others who are struggling.

If you are interested in becoming a part of ROSC, or even just learning more about what this organization is doing for Logan and Mason counties, they have planning meetings on the second Tuesday of each month. These meetings occur at 4:30 pm at the new Central Illinois Veterans Commission building, 200 5th St. Anyone with questions is also free to call Davis at [phone].

[Matt Boutcher]