Tomorrow in Pitts Park, the Northeast Georgia Recovery Fest will offer a day of family fun and celebration, new opportunities to educate and help the Northeast Georgia Community, and bring hope to those who have been affected by addiction.
The event, which starts at 11 a.m. in Clarkesville, is about more than the face painting, music, henna tattoos and raffles the event’s organizers are bringing out to the park. It’s about conversations regarding addiction, the celebration of people who make recovery possible, those recovering and their support systems.
“I think the main thing that we’re hoping is to try to de-stigmatize addiction a bit,” event organizer and Homestead Women’s Recovery Center program director Margo Staton said. “And also let people know that there are all kinds of resources right in their backyard if they are struggling with addiction.”
Organizations like Homestead Recovery, the Family Resource Center, Hope Detox Center, Comunity Resource Center and many more will have representatives at the festival to talk with community members about addiction and recovery. The event will also feature guest speakers who will talk about their struggles and the road to recovery.
“We really want to give the public some information, inspiration and an introduction to the services available to families struggling with addiction,” Staton said.
This event will give people who may have been hesitant to seek help for addiction, or people whose loved ones may be suffering, a more informal and relaxed environment to discuss heavy topics.
“[Recovery Fest] is open for anybody who wants to have a good time on Saturday,” Staton says. “There will be all sorts of resources from the local community that they can talk to, or they can just come and get some low country boil and get their face painted. We’ll have speakers [so] you can kind of hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. A lot of families never get to hear someone talk that has been through recovery and is a recovering addict, so I guess we’re trying to bring hope.”
