On September 12, VOA Mid-States hosted an open house to celebrate the five-year anniversary of their Recovery Community Center (RCC) in Manchester, Kentucky.
VOA RCC strives to be a community resource for education, information, support and socialization for those in recovery and their family and friends. The program focuses on Peer Recovery Support Services to assist in removing barriers and providing access to support and resources for those who seek long-term sobriety. RCC also hosts fun events and opportunities for its members to gather and connect as they continue their recovery journeys.
VOA welcomed members of their Board of Directors, community leaders and the public with an open house and refreshments to celebrate the program’s success. VOA RCC Program Manager Walter Mullins spoke to attendees about the program’s impact on the Clay County community.
“In Recovery Oriented Systems of Care, we’ve realized over time that the whole community is required to treat the whole person,” said Mullins. “Our peer supports do recovery coaching and they also go out and do harm reduction in the community and help people get into treatment.”
“We also have fun! Because if people didn’t have fun, they wouldn’t come here,” he said. “We come here and have coffee and hang out. We watch Super Bowl games and have New Year’s Eve parties, so you don’t have to go to the bar, you can come here. It’s all about community and families. Recovery is not hard if we have the right support.”
Long-time RCC member, Wesley Wagers, shared his recovery journey with guests and how RCC gave him the support system he needed to achieve long-term sobriety.
“I got clean in 2021, and I’ve been to meetings at this place (RCC) four to five times a week. Anytime I got bored, I didn’t have to call out to people who were high,” Wagers said. “The thing about this place, they always welcomed me. I always knew that there were people who cared.”
“Today, I get to be a dad to my kids, and they don’t have to see me do the things that I used to do,” Wesley said. “I don’t believe for a minute that I could be here today if not for this place and Walter Mullins.”
To date, more than 800 individuals have visited RCC to seek support and a safe, sober place to gather. Success from the Manchester RCC has led to other program locations in Pulaski, Rockcastle, and Lincoln Counties.
While in town for the open house, members of VOA’s Board of Directors visited two other programs in the area – a residential recovery program for pregnant and parenting women, Freedom House, and a transitional sober living home for graduates of the recovery program.
VOA RCC, Freedom House and the transitional sober living home provide comprehensive support throughout an individual’s recovery journey, helping them sustain sobriety.
VOA board members also attended a panel discussion on EKU Manchester’s campus hosted by the organization. Speakers included VOA Mid-States President & CEO, Jennifer Hancock; Chief Medical Officer, Advent Health, Dr. Anita Cornett; VOA Mid-States Senior Director of Rural Addiction Recovery Services, Stephanie Hoskins; Deann Allen; Franklin Stivers; Mayor of Corbin, Kentucky, Suzie Razmus; and Senate President Robert Stivers.
Speakers discussed VOA’s impact on the region, and how partnerships and collaboration with local community and business leaders have helped Clay County and Southeast Kentucky progress.
VOA Board of Directors include:
- Dr. Kelli Bullard Dunn, Board Chair, Professor of Surgery Community Engagement and Diversity at the University of Louisville
- Abbie Gilbert, Partner at the Denton Group Strategic Government Relations
- Abby Green, Attorney, Grossman Green PLLC
- Annabelle Pike, System Director of Community Health and Engagement, Baptist Health
- Bill Moore, President, UPS Airlines
- Blake Willoughby, President and Chairman, First Breckinridge Bancshares
- Bobby Duane, President, Duane Realty and Development
- Chase Sanders, Senior Investor Relations Analyst, Brown-Forman
- Gloria Mucker, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Veterans Affairs
- John Y. Brown III, Owner, JYB3 Group
- Jon Copley, Vice President of Medicare Optimization, Molina Healthcare
- Joe Frazier, Senior Diversity and Inclusion Business Partner, Brown-Forman
- Jan Grayson
- Kim Wise, Senior Executive Assistant, Brown-Forman
- Larry Horn, Executive Director, Amplify Louisville
- Matt Niehaus, Executive Vice-President, Professional Insurance Agents of Kentucky
- Marcus Stubbs, Community Engagement Manager, Coalition for the Homeless
- Mike Lennon, Attorney/CPA, Weber & Rose, PSC
- Neville Blakemore, Managing Director, Pursant
- Rickey Green, President, Action Shots, Inc.
- Sam Ellington, Senior Vice President of Baird Trust
- Sean Williamson, Attorney for Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP
- Shon Adams, Legion Coaching and Consulting LLC
- Dr. Steven Kelsey, Patristical Founder, Alpha and Omega Church Ministries International, Inc.
- Terry Gray Sr. Director, Regional Programming & Regional Stewardship for Eastern Kentucky University in Manchester
- Tawanda Chitapa, Director of Clinical Reporting, Norton Healthcare
- Tim Bryant, Career Break
Visit www.voamid.org to learn more about VOA and the recovery services they provide in Southeast Kentucky and throughout the Commonwealth.
The Manchester Enterprise, September 18, 2024
