MANSFIELD — Nothing is more uplifting for Mike Sizemore than watching people tackle their substance-abuse disorders.
“For people who have been able to walk through those dark places and come out the other side — there’s few things more inspiring than that,” Sizemore said.
Sizemore has worked with Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services for about four years. He had the idea to add a recovery picnic to the MHRS’ list of events as a way for people to network and celebrate their accomplishments.
The 2022 recovery picnic was the first of what the MHRS board plans to make an annual event each September.
“This was meant not to be so much informative as it was to be a connecting event,” Sizemore said. “I think it’s good for people to network in the community that have been through similar experiences and they can draw strength from each other.”
The picnic included free food from Dan Lew Exchange and snacks organized by local recovery organizations. Featured speakers were Meri McCann and Amanda Redfern, who each struggled with substance abuse.
McCann said she first went to rehab for alcohol addiction when she was 15 and tried drugs when she finished her rehab program.
“I tell people I never really had a drug of choice,” she said. “I started with alcohol, but it was always whatever was available just to escape whatever was going on.”
McCann said wanting a better life for her young son drove her to ask for help to overcome her addiction.
“I decided that I deserve so much more than I had ever given myself,” McCann said. “That hurt child inside of me that never felt like I deserved anything, that never fit in or felt like I belonged anywhere — I take care of her now and I let her know that she is worthy of love and happiness.”
Redfern said she and McCann had similar childhood experiences.
“I struggled with mental health and substance abuse for 22 years of my life,” Redfern said.
“I grew up in a very violent, toxic and alcoholic home … I think it fed into my feelings of unworthiness and not belonging.”
Redfern said she didn’t trust anyone to listen to her and value her feelings for most of her life but she slowly opened up to people who were helping her.
“I’ve been working on myself for four years,” she said. “I feel like I’m never going to be recovered — I don’t think that’s possible. I think this is something I’m going to work on for the rest of my life.”
Joe Trolian, executive director of Richland County MHRS, said recovery month is dedicated to celebrating the success stories of people who are fighting to overcome substance abuse disorders.
“A lot of what we read in the paper is not terribly positive. We read about how many people overdose, we read about how many homeless people we have downtown, about how many suicides we have,” Trolian said. “We’re not hearing about the 10,000 people every year that come into treatment, and this is the time of year we like to make sure everybody hears it.”
Trolian said each recovery month event aims to share positive stories of recovery, but the picnic will help foster a family-friendly and upbeat atmosphere.
“A lot of times, treatment kind of separates everybody — you have the family programs, you’ve got treatment,” he said. “I like the idea of having programs where everyone can come together. And if nothing else, they can get a hot dog or a hamburger.”
Sizemore said he was happy with the turnout for the first picnic and he hopes it inspires others to connect with people and resources that can help them recover from addictions and other mental health struggles.
“This is not meant to be an event that seems like it’s demeaning to anyone,” he said. “It’s meant to be an inspiring event where you can encourage the best that’s in people.”
If you are in need of addiction or mental health resources, visit richlandmentalhealth.com.
