Cumberland River Behavioral Health hosted its Christmas in Recovery event on Dec. 5 in partnership with Crossroads Recovery Center at the Church of Nazarene, where attendees enjoyed a meal with cookies and hot chocolate, participated in door-prize drawings, and received a visit from Santa.
While the organization previously hosted a Christmas party the year before, this marked the first year of the Christmas in Recovery event in its current format, as well as the first year partnering with Crossroads.
The collaboration aims to make the event more accessible to more people.
The idea for Christmas in Recovery grew out of ongoing efforts to host monthly recovery-focused events.
“We want to show people that recovery can be fun,” said Lorrie Crawford. “People care about them, and that there are people who love them and want to support them.”
The event was open to everyone, including individuals in recovery and their families.
Christmas in Recovery offered cookies, hot chocolate, games, fellowship, door prizes, a visit from Santa, and harm-reduction supplies provided by the Regional Prevention Office, and “girl coffee”, which is just iced coffee.
The holiday season is an important time for outreach to those in recovery, because the holidays can be hard.
“With people in recovery, it can be a time when they feel alone, and try to isolate, and we want them to know that fellowship and being together is possible and important,” said Victoria May.
Approximately seven to eight staff members and volunteers helped make the event possible, including Coordinator Jennifer Howard, Courtney Mitton, Victoria May, and Jennifer Tye from Cumberland River Behavioral Health and Lorrie Crawford from Hope Place.
Organizers with Cumberland River Behavioral Health, Hope Place, and Crossroads Recovery Center also shared that they host two major recovery-focused events each month, including fellowship nights, movie nights, and family events.
The Tradition One Recovery Community Center is open to the public and offers AA and NA meetings, recovery events, expungement clinics, domestic violence support groups, and resume-building assistance.
Event information and updates are shared on the Cumberland River Behavioral Health and Hope Place Facebook pages. For individuals in crisis, the Quick Response Team (QRT) is available 24 hours a day by calling (606) 526-9552.
