LAKE COUNTY >> The Board of Supervisors recognize September as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recover Month. As part of it, the county will be hosting an event this weekend in Lakeport.
The county dedicated the month in order to educate the community how addiction treatments and mental health services can be beneficial and effective to those who suffer from substance abuse or mental disorders.
Todd Metcalf, Behavioral Health Administrator for the county, said is to reinforce the positive message that behavioral health is critical and that with treatment people can recover.
“We see the term ‘recovery’ so often lately we think in terms of fire recovery but this has to do with drug and alcohol abuse,” Metcalf said.
With a number of success stories they have come across, Metcalf said how proud he is of not only the clients but the staff who have put in large amounts of effort to help the community better themselves.
“People can and do recover,” Metcalf said. “It’s not easy but it’s extremely rewarding.”
Along with the celebration of recovery, prevention is also very crucial in alcohol and drug addictions. Randall Cole a Substance Abuse Counselor for the Behavioral Health Department says he has lived here for 25 years and has seen recovery happen from those who got help.
“I have seen the substance abuse culture change in Lake County and I think we are leading right now with our approach. Our approach is we are dealing with the battlefield of the mind and that changes behavior. So we are leading the way in this county and I think we are going to be a landmark for other counties,” Cole said.
Through this next month, the people in the county are being encouraged to bring more awareness to the recovery, prevention and problems of alcohol and drug addiction.
Substance Abuse Counselor Bonnie O’Donnell said the agency has been working hard to gather outside sources for the event they are putting together to bring awareness to alcohol and drug addiction.
“Recovery is not only for the person that suffers from the addiction, it’s the whole family. Everybody suffers that has a person that is addicted in that family so it’s time to unite not only the families but our community too,” O’Donnell said.
The event, Recovery Happens, will be on Saturday, September 16 starting at 10 a.m. and will take place at Library Park. This event will feature a Recovery Happens Walk at 11 a.m., guest speakers, raffle prizes and music.
