Anyone who’s ever been caught in the cycle of addiction or has tried to help an addict knows, finding help in a crisis can be difficult. Making that process easier is what Saturday’s Northeast Georgia Recovery Fest in Clarkesville was all about — that and bringing people together for an enjoyable weekend outing.
The Northeast Georgia Recovery Fest, held at Pitts Park, drew a good crowd. Several hundred people showed up throughout the afternoon. Against the backdrop of live entertainment, raffles, games, and a low country broil, there was an important message.
“We want to let people know that that there are all kinds of resources right in their backyard if they are struggling with addiction,” event organizer Margo Stanton told Now Habersham.
Stanton is director of Homestead Women’s Recovery Center in Clarkesville. The nonprofit residential recovery center opened in 2009. Homestead expanded from an 8 to a 12-bed facility in 2014 and, since then, more than 140 women have completed the year-long program.
“I think a lot of times people think, ‘Oh, you know, I’m going to have to go to AA or an NA,’ but there are other ways of getting sober,” says Stanton.
Jordan Hussey knows firsthand about the journey to sobriety. After struggling through her own addiction, she began working in addiction recovery. Hussey is now executive director of J’s Place in Gainesville. The center provides one-on-one peer coaching support, employment assistance, resume building, connections to local resources and treatment facilities, and regular social and service events. J’s Place also hosts multiple support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Veterans Recovery Support, Parent Support, Eating Disorder Support, among others.
“Recovery has given me the ability to have my life back in a different way than it ever was before, even before the drugs and alcohol,” Hussey told the crowd on Saturday.
She says her work has given her new purpose in the lifelong battle against addiction, and it’s helped her see people in a new light.
“That’s what I want to do for other people, I want to believe in them,” Hussey says. “I want to walk alongside them. I want to show them what they’re capable of.”
Hussey hosts The Journey podcast which spotlights stories of recovery and hope — hope fueled by the knowledge that no one is truly alone in the addiction cycle; there are people and resources available to help.
“We [people in recovery] get the rare opportunity that most people who have lived the way that we have don’t get, we get a different ending,” Hussey said. “But it takes the work. It takes grit. It takes persistency, it takes transparency. It takes us getting up and putting a foot in front of the other and saying, ‘Okay, I need help. Today, I’m going to call my sponsor, I’m going to do whatever it is that I started doing to find recovery in the first place, and I’m going to keep doing it and hope like hell that I remain sober.'”
This article has been updated with additional information
