Rise Up

Rise Up

Showing kindness to people in recovery

I am a recovering alcoholic. I have been sober for over 10 years. At the core of the recovery program is serving others. We learn to put others first and lose ourselves in service work. It is easy to forget my own problems when I am helping someone else and often, I end up feeling much better afterwards. I have always had a heart for serving others because my mother used to take me to volunteer at the nursing homes and the Red Cross growing up. I was also a candy striper at the local hospital.

In October of 2018, I was posting on social media that I wish there was something fun to do that didn’t cost a lot of money. Boredom is not a good thing for an alcoholic. One of my local friends said that they were starting a local peer recovery center called Rise Up.

She told me where to find it and that there would be a Zumba class there the following day. When I got there, there was only one other person there and I almost left but felt this strong urge to stay and talk to her. Nobody else showed up that day and I got the opportunity to sit and talk to the Director of the program instead of doing Zumba. The place was empty at that point. It wasn't fully open yet. There was no furniture or anything yet. We ended up spending the entire day together and going to Wal Mart to get stuff to furnish and decorate the center.

I absolutely fell in love with the place and very much enjoy being a part of it. I volunteer there sometimes and participate in the activities they offer. Right now, unfortunately services are limited due to the Covid virus, but I am looking forward to going back when things settle down again.

There are so many good people that work and go there. The purpose of the center is to give addicts a place of support and recreation without being judged. It is a very calm and fun place to go. Activities at Rise Up has included singing at nursing homes at Christmas time, having recovery meetings, art and fitness classes, serving the homeless in our community, job resources, help getting to appointments. There is a music room with instruments and an exercise room. There are free classes offered on many different topics. Any time anyone in the community is in need, Rise Up is right there to help. Thanksgiving meals have been served there and it is beautiful watching everyone come together. Anytime you are in that place, there is a feeling of calm and acceptance and pure love. The people who work there are called Peer Support Specialists. I have not done that yet but hope to one day.

There are also a lot of community education and support groups. I have met a lot of new friends. It has been exciting to see the place grow. The director often posts on Facebook that they are looking for items for a peer in recovery that has graduated a program and is starting over. It can be hard to start over as an addict. A lot of us have started over with nothing so we know how it feels. The people I have met in the various programs I have participated in since being in recovery are some of the kindest, big-hearted people I have ever met. I am looking forward to the day when we can physically get together again. I love being a part of something so helpful to our small community. I strongly feel that we all need to help each other as much as possible, especially considering current events as of the time I am writing this. Everything is completely free to participants, so nobody is ever excluded. I am excited to see the future for this program. Love is what will save the world and you will find lots of love at Rise Up Peer Support Center.