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 This
walk, sponsored by the Logan/Mason County Recovery Oriented Systems
of Care (ROSC), is the third of its kind hosted by this
organization. The Logan/Mason County ROSC is sponsored by Chestnut
Health Systems. Jeanette Davis, Recovery Specialist for the
Logan/Mason County ROSC, organized the event.
The event kicked off around 1p.m. with several supporting
organizations getting their tables set up. These organizations
included Open Arms, Memorial Behavioral Health, Oxford House, Early
Intervention, Lincoln/Logan County Crime Stoppers, Hope on 5th, and
Heartland Community College. Some of these organizations shared a
table.
During this time, Davis met with the three speakers
of the day to give them a rundown of events and who was speaking
when.
Davis then approached the microphone, thanking
everyone for attending and talking a bit on recovery. She talked
about the reason everyone was in attendance, stating that it is “to
show recovery can and does happen.” She then introduced all the
organizations that came to support the recovery walk, encouraging
people to visit their tables. After this, Davis introduced the first
speaker of the day, Shawn Miller.
Miller spoke on his life before and after recovery.
He shared that his life was very painful and chaotic, becoming
addicted to alcohol from an early age. He became very dependent on
alcohol and, over time, additional substances. It was his sister who
got him into rehab, and that worked for a bit.
Miller stated recovery is something you must work at,
and he did not do the work. This led to him relapsing and his sister
getting him back into rehab. He then shared details on the last day
he used. He was sent home from work and was pulled over. The officer
let him go, and he continued driving. Luckily, Miller shared, he did
not get into an accident. He stated he thanks God that he did not
take someone’s loved one from them. After this, everyone in his life
gave up on him and he was admitted to rehab again. He decided to
make a change and, once finishing rehab, joined an Oxford House.
Miller shared he is starting to get his self-respect back and love
himself again. He called his life “insanity” before and said he
doesn’t like living in insanity. He tries to do good by other people
now, sharing that is what makes him feel good today.
Davis then took the microphone again to thank Miller and introduce
the next speaker, Stasha Sanders.
Sanders shared some similarities in her story of
addiction and recovery. Her vice was Vicodin, which she was
prescribed by doctors for a back injury she sustained while giving
birth to her first child. Sanders knew she was becoming addicted and
requested the doctors find her a new medicine. Rather than doing
that, they upped her dosage. Once they realized she was addicted,
the doctors took her off the medicine all together, but she turned
to harder substances.
After this, Sanders was in and out of jail and rehab. She had more
children, but lost custody over all of them. She eventually got
involved in NA (Narcotics Anonymous). Today, Sanders has regained
custody over three of her four children and is making sure to teach
them about recovery. She is teaching them that recovery is more than
simply getting rid of the drugs, it’s about fixing yourself.
Once Sanders finished sharing, Samantha Martini made
her way to the microphone. Martini, Case Manager for the Woman’s
Residential Unit at Chestnut Health Systems, led those in attendance
in a moment of silence.
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Martini shared that, during this time, music would be
played and anyone who wanted to remember someone who had succumbed
to the disease of addiction could come up and speak their name into
the microphone.
As the music played, people slowly came to the front,
speaking the name(s) and remaining near the microphone. The crowd
slowly grew from two people to over a dozen. Many tears were shed
and hugs given.
After the moment of silence, those in attendance then
lined up on the sidewalk to begin the walk. The group went from
Scully Park, down Kickapoo to Broadway Street. The walk then went
down Broadway to Hamilton Street, going around the Safety Complex on
Pekin and Sherman Streets. The group then crossed Broadway Street
again, turning onto Pulaski Street and walking past IGA. The last
turn was made onto McClean Street, before the group made it back to
Scully.
Once everyone returned, lunch was served. The lunch included ham,
turkey, and chicken salad sandwiches made by Deep Roots Bakery and
Cafe. Each sandwich also came with a bag of chips and a cookie.
Memorial Health was kind enough to pay for the meal. Davis
encouraged everyone to stick around, as there was still one more
speaker for the day.
After about fifteen minutes, Davis got up again to
introduce the final speaker of the day, Brycen McFadden. McFadden
shared a bit about his story, but unlike Miller and Sanders, he only
shared from his most recent relapse.
McFadden got out of rehab in 2020. He was at rock bottom and moved
in with some friends. He shared that he only lasted being sober for
about two weeks before he relapsed again. Over time, the friends he
was staying with changed the locks on him because his lifestyle was
making them so uncomfortable.
He had one car and purchased another but lost his job soon after. He
was living out of his vehicles, but they both broke down, leaving
him homeless in the winter. He was homeless until 2022, when he
started getting into gang activity and got into several shootouts in
a week.
McFadden was arrested and faced with the possibility of going to
jail for ten years. This reality check hit McFadden hard. He got
some help from his uncle and once more got admitted to rehab. The
week before he was released, he learned about Oxford House, applying
for a few and getting accepted into one.
He said this experience was great for him, and he was
eventually invited to go to a national meeting for Oxford House in
Washington D.C. Shortly after, he was nominated to be state chair
for the Illinois branch of Oxford House. Since then, he has become
the Outreach Worker for Oxford House in Springfield, working with
Oxford Houses in the Central Illinois area. All of this has helped
give McFadden hope for recovery. He enjoys getting to help people
with their journeys of recovery.
After McFadden spoke, Davis once again thanked everyone for
attending. She shared that ROSC meets on the second Tuesday of each
month at Hope on 5th in Lincoln. The Land of Lincoln Recovery Group
also meets there many times throughout the week. AA meetings are
held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 6:00 pm, and
on Saturdays and Sundays at 9:00 am. NA meetings are held each
Thursday at 6:00 pm and each Sunday at 5:00 pm. CoDa (Co-Dependents
Anonymous) meets each Monday at 6:00 pm.
[Matt Boutcher]
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