4 to share stories of addiction, recovery at BC3 event Thursday
The testimonials of area residents in long-term recovery from substance use will inspire crowd members in early recovery and others during the most popular of Butler County Community College’s Hope Night events, a BC3 administrator said.
About 100 guests are expected to attend BC3’s Stories of Hope from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Butler Art Center & Gallery, 344 S. Main St., Butler, according to Ken Clowes, the college’s community initiatives center assistant.
The event is free and open to the public.
Mallory Bole, Garret English, Cora Franceschi and Justin Moore are among scheduled speakers.
Bole, 35, of Butler, says her life was “filled with trauma” and is now “filled with resilience and hope.” She says that in sobriety she has been able to regain custody of her son, earn a bachelor’s degree, have a healthy marriage and start two businesses.
English, 36, of Butler, says he is “a journeyman of life” who in sobriety is the lead therapist at Silvermist’s inpatient center where he helps “men escape from the darkness and move toward their life’s purpose.”
Franceschi, 34, of Kittanning, says she “suffered from extreme substance abuse” and “became swallowed up by the deepest, darkest, deadliest parts of addiction.” She says she has rewritten her own destiny “with my extreme determination to be more than an addicted inmate without a purpose.” She says that in sobriety she is “a loving mother, daughter and sister” and became a certified recovery specialist.
Moore, 41, of Butler, says he is “a living testament to the power of change” after years of being “lost, caught in addiction, homelessness and cycles of jail that left me feeling hopeless and broken.” He says that in sobriety he is “a proud husband, father and business owner.”
Hope Nights followed the debut of BC3’s Hope is Dope: Reset Your Brain opioid addiction program and began in December 2018. Hope Nights offer activities intended to produce endorphins and to support fellowship for those in recovery from substance use. Hope is Dope represents a BC3 objective to improve the quality of life in its communities.
“For folks early in recovery, it can be difficult to feel like you are part of the community or whether you are making progress,” Clowes said. “Hearing these people’s stories and how far they have come can really show those early in recovery how much potential is out there for themselves. I think it builds resolve.”
Bill Foley is coordinator of news and media content at Butler County Community College.
