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National Recovery Month Celebrated at The Life Hub

By Eric Ayres 6 min read

WHEELING - There are a myriad of life events that can drag people into a cycle of addiction and homelessness, but there is also a solid network of support in the community that can help lift people in need out of that cycle and onto a road to a new chapter in life.

On Wednesday, The Life Hub in downtown Wheeling hosted a special event to celebrate the close of National Recovery Month. Community partners, recovery organizations, supporters, volunteers and guests of The Life Hub all gathered to take part in the celebration.

The gathering outside The Life Hub’s facility on 16th Street at the former First English Lutheran Church was met with picture perfect weather on a warm and sunny early fall afternoon. Organizers of the event said it provided an opportunity to celebrate recovery, share resources and information, connect individuals with community support and recognize the importance of home and connections for individuals experiencing homelessness and other challenges.

National Recovery Month was observed throughout the month of September, organizers noted.

"We’re closing it out with a Recovery Picnic for our guests here at The Life Hub," said Ryan Adams, AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer working with The Life Hub. "We introduce recovery in some ways to our guests, and other people who are in recovery can help share that."

The Life Hub in Wheeling is primarily a low-barrier shelter that is currently housing both men and women in separate dorms located inside the former church facility. Not all individuals who are homeless or who utilize the services of The Life Hub are suffering from addiction, but many are. The staff at The Life Hub is ready to help direct those who are committed to seeking help to resources that can truly put them on the right track.

"We on average probably get about three people a month - sometimes more and sometimes less," Adams said of guests at The Life Hub who want to get into detox and take that big first step toward starting the process of reclaiming their lives and breaking the cycle of addiction.

"Our partners here in the community help navigate them onto what recovery looks like on the back in, whether that’s residential treatment, a 12-step program ... but detox is the start of it sometimes," Adams said. "There’s a lot of people who have come through The Life Hub and have started that whole process - and there’s a good many of them who have found success and are now housed."

Adams said an after care program was started at The Life Hub with about nine people, six of whom are currently in recovery and are doing well.

"That says a lot for where we are and what we’re trying to do here," he said. "We don’t have mental health services. It’s just peer-to-peer conversations, working with them and helping them get to the place they need to be."

Wednesday’s Recovery Picnic featured an outdoor grill with food, activities and several tables set up by a number of different local agencies and organizations willing to help those in need to find a path toward recovery.

The activities included a collaborative artwork titled Growing Roots - on which guests could write or paint their own message or vision about what recovery means to them, personally.

"We were really excited to bring out some craft and art making that we really think helps in helping people heal and be a part of the community," said Kate Marshall, executive director of the Mother Jones Center for Resilient Community, which provided a variety of arts, crafts and activities for the event. "We partner with The Life Hub using arts for recovery. Often what needs to be healed in a person who is going through the journey of recovery are not just the tangible things in their life. There also needs to be a lot of inner work done in that healing, and art can play a critical role in helping someone to process their life events and help develop their imagination so that they can really start to dream and consider what goals they want to pursue next.

"Without creativity and without that ability to dream, it is really hard to envision a new life."

Wednesday’s event was designed to do just that. Representatives of the partner organizations said the celebration in many different ways swung the door open for exactly what many people there needed - hope.

"When I was 15 and a half, I started to be homeless," said Mintie Ross of Wheeling, noting her family’s history and her personal struggles at a young age. "I walked away from my home, and I lived on the street for 20 years. I am a recovering alcoholic, but I’ll have 18 years (of sobriety) on Dec. 20."

Ross said that back in the days when she was experiencing homelessness and struggles with alcohol, the kind of resources that are available today were no where near as extensive.

"Back when I was homeless, we had nothing," she said, noting that several years ago, a minister took her under his wing. He helped get her into rehab, she began attending church and AA meetings, and she began helping the homeless and sponsoring local people in recovery. "I try to give back as much as I can."

Despite facing her own health challenges - including a battle with breast cancer - Ross continues to find rewards in helping others in need. She is active with Celebrate Recovery, goes to Bible study every week and helps the team at the Mother Jones Center for Resilient Community - known as The MoJo.

"I support the homeless people, because I care," Ross said.

One of those people is Erin Carver, who met Ross through Celebrate Recover. An Ohio native, Carver did not find herself in a situation of homelessness, but was navigating through traumatic situations and was in need of help and recovery.

"She sponsors me," Carver said of Ross. "She is a legend. Everybody knows her. She’s really great."

Carver said she was seeking relief from a domestic violence situation when she found Ross and the assistance she needed to help turn things in the right direction.

"The help is getting better - the help is good," Carver said. "When I got with Mintie, she helped me with stuff at the YWCA, parenting classes and things like that - anything and everything. She’ll do anything for you."

Those at Wednesday’s event noted that community-based support from organizations and individuals who care can truly help those who face housing instability and other barriers in life.

Starting at /week.