Stand Up For Recovery: A Joyous Celebration
This year’s Stand Up For Recovery event was a joyous celebration! On September 28 at the Hyatt Regency Louisville, guests enjoyed a wonderful lunch and heard from three guest speakers who shared uplifting and inspirational testimonials of overcoming their struggles with addiction through help from Seven Counties Services. It was a beautiful display of how our community joins together to Stand Up for Recovery!
Recapping Stand Up For Recovery
During the event, Abby Drane, our President and CEO at Seven Counties Services, welcomed guests which included our three supporting sponsors, Aetna Better Health of Kentucky, Humana, and The Anthem Foundation. Thank you each for standing up for recovery!
We also heard from Dr. Liz McKune, our Chief Operating Officer, who shared data about the need for substance use treatment services, as well as events such as Stand Up for Recovery that allow us to celebrate addiction recovery. “The CDC has tracked more than one million people have died from an overdose since 1999, and this number is growing each year,” shared Dr. McKune. “In 2022 alone, 107,699 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States. Of those, 2,262 were in Kentucky and 609, or 26.5%, were in Jefferson County.”
The reaction from the room told us it was the first time many had heard this data. While the information was alarming, Dr. McKune followed by assuring us the fight is not hopeless and the speakers she was about to introduce would tell us why.
Speakers of this year’s event who shared their testimonies included Tyrus Williams, Lindsey Wood, and Lyle Holley.
Each speaker’s testimony was a unique and vulnerable account of finding their way to Seven Counties Services and the challenges they faced during their recovery journeys. While the testimonies were each unique, they provided a powerful reminder of just how important support is during an addiction recovery journey.
This needed support is exactly why Seven Counties Services provides services throughout the entire care continuum of a recovery journey. Derek Priester, the Vice President of Addiction Services, elaborated on this continuum by sharing some of our specialized programs and services. “We offer services from initial assessment to men’s and women-specific residential programming, intensive outpatient programs, peer support, occupational therapy and everything in-between,” shared Derek.
He also shared about the unique services we offer at our Regional Prevention Center, such as Kentucky Moms and Project Link, two programs that work together for women who are pregnant or have recently given birth, who are at risk, or who struggle with substance use. Lindsey spoke about the benefits of programs like these during her testimony. They’re an example of why we continue to offer these types of needed services.
Additionally, as part of the entire care continuum, Derek added Seven Counties Services provides aftercare services to help individuals continue their recovery journey and maintain progress after completing the program. We offer these services, and many more, because addiction recovery is a lifelong progress. This is something both Tyrus and Lyle highlighted in their testimony as they each dedicate their own time to helping others who are also in recovery through regular meetings and providing their support.
Recovery is Possible!
Through our variety of services, Seven Counties Services helps over 4,000 people annually begin their road to recovery. We know that recovery is possible, and we witnessed it through three amazing testimonies.
We concluded the 2023 Stand Up For Recovery celebration with each person in the room standing. We stood for those affected by addiction and substance use disorders, for the emotional, physical, and spiritual health of those in our community, for those in treatment, in need of treatment, and for the loved ones with them on their journey.
Thank you to each person who joined us and to those in the community who Stand Up for Recovery! We hope to celebrate again together next year!
