September is National Recovery Month, and from 11 am to 3:00 p.m. on Sept. 17th, The Recovery Management Center and WNMU's Chemical Dependency Program along with the Criminal Justice/Chemical Dependency Club, with support and sponsorship from, The New Mexico Office of Peer Recovery and Engagement, Con Alma, HMS, and Recovery Santa Fe, will host the first annual Recovery Grant County Celebration at Gough Park in Silver City NM.

People in recovery from substance use disorders will join with their family and friends, local treatment providers, and others supporting recovery to celebrate Grant County's large recovery community. Everyone in the community is invited to attend.

"For too long, our country and our communities have focused on the negative impacts of addiction," "It is time to focus on the possibilities of Recovery and on this day, September 17th Recovery Grant County Celebration Day, we will honor those in recovery and acknowledge their contribution to our community."

The celebration will include an art show by people who support those in recovery; paintings, jewelry, furniture, sculpture, and other unique creations could be displayed. Information booths set up by different organizations such as Molina Health, Care, Presbyterian Health Care, Hidalgo Medical Services and many others are planned. County Commissioner Ron Hall will flip hamburgers for a free community meal, and attendees will be invited to write on the sidewalk in chalk, completing the sentence, "The great thing about recovery is. . . ."

According to the Grant County Substance Abuse Epidemiology Profile - 2014, Grant County ranks first in the state for adult binge drinking and third for heavy drinking with concerning opioid prescribing habits. Some Grant County residents do suffer from substance dependence. Therefore, it is time to incorporate into the conversation the possibilities of Recovery in Grant County.

"We need to bring forth the face of recovery instead of promoting the stigma of addiction,'' says Recovery Grant County Organizer Jim Helgert, CEO of The Recovery Management Center. "We organized this public recovery celebration because our nation has stigmatized the addiction disease. Too many people lose hope that their recovery is possible." Recovery Grant County Celebration Day's goal is for everyone to understand that addiction is treatable and it is not a failure of morals or will. Overcoming the addiction epidemic requires our community to step forward in not only treating addiction but embracing, supporting, and celebrating people in recovery."

For more information on Recovery Grant County Celebration Day! Please contact the Recovery Management Center at 575-388-1447.