Christopher Bailey, 37, of McCandless, Allegheny County, speaks Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at the Butler Art Center in Butler during þÄúStories of Hope,þÄù part of Butler County Community College's "Hope is Dope" program. The native of San Diego said he used opioids and abused alcohol for 12 years and that he has been sober since July 2017. BC3þÄôs program has received $180,000 as part of a state Department of Human Services grant awarded to the Center for Community Resources, Butler.

An opioid recovery program started its second year of operation this month with a much larger state grant.

Butler County Community College's Hope is Dope program, a series of classes and community events designed to help addicts understand the brain chemistry of addiction and how to overcome it, started in limited fashion last year with a $107,000 grant funded by the state's Department of Human Services and awarded by Butler County's Center for Community Resources, according to Hope is Dope organizers.

Starting Oct. 1, this year's grant increased to $180,000. Last year, funding covered the program's creation and a limited run of classes. Now, Hope is Dope will expand to include three groups of 20 students in classes throughout the year.

“I'm feeling very hopeful this year that we'll be able to have more of an impact and reach more people since we have a full year's worth of funding,” said Tracy Hack, BC3's coordinator of community leadership initiatives.

The class is based on the book “Hope is Dope” by Steve Treu, a Cranberry Township therapist who works with recovering addicts.

Monthly “Hope Nights” are hosted in the Butler Art Center, 344 S. Main St.The nights are designed to provide healthier means of releasing endorphins in the brain than drug use. Art, yoga and outdoor activities are all tapped.In a BC3 news release, the college's president, Nick Neupauer, spoke highly of the program.“I could not be more proud,” Neupauer said. “This speaks to the college's significance of serving as the community's college. We are helping our communities as an educator and convener in addressing a major societal issue.”The $180,000 Hope is Dope funding is part of a $611,000 state grant awarded to Butler's Center for Community Resources. The money is targeted to aid people with opioid use disorders.

Recent participants of Butler County Community College's "Hope is Dope" program plan to paint a mural in October on a brick building along the 100 block of West North Street in Butler. BC3's program has received $180,000 as part of a state Department of Human Services grant awarded to the Center for Community Resources, Butler.