ALL IN THIS TOGETHER: Georgia Pines and Wecovery staff and program leads present at Georgia Pines’ community appreciation dinner.

THOMASVILLE- Last Friday afternoon, Georgia Pines Community Service Board held a Wecovery Community Appreciation Dinner at SASS to bring together and celebrate their supporters and program workers.

Dan Bailey, the program manager for Wecovery, said that the dinner was held to honor local businesses and churches that were allies to Wecovery and their invaluable part in the recovery process.

“This dinner was held to honor businesses, organizations, and churches who are Georgia Pines Wecovery Allies. A small obstacle for most, like getting an ID, can seem like an insurmountable obstacle for someone seeking recovery,” Bailey said. “Such a simple barrier can be the difference between success and failure, or life and death. Bridges are built through the generous donations of our gracious Community Recovery Allies.”

Additionally, the dinner was held to normalize conversations about mental health and substance abuse recovery and increase the visibility of Georgia Pines within the community, according to Bailey.

“Our goal is to normalize conversations about mental health and substance abuse recovery. We strive to eliminate stigma. We are planning many exciting community events in 2023. Recovery is real in south Georgia,” he said. “We are hoping to increase Georgia Pines’ visibility in the community and raise awareness regarding the services we offer. We serve the community where we live, and we care.”

The dinner, Bailey said, was an inspiration to see as someone so involved in recovery, saying that many champions came to eat and speak. 

“It was inspiring to see so many of our recovery champions in one room at one time,” he said. “Everybody in there was pro-recovery and we’ve worked with all of them, but to see them all in one room, at one time, was, to me, as somebody who recovers, was very inspiring.”

Speakers included Emily Mitchell and Terrica Hopkins, who spoke in regard to the Medication Assisted Treatment and Alcohol Use Disorder programs, Jerome Garett and Bonnie Travis, who spoke about SA and IOP groups, Derrick Mike, who spoke about Mental Health. TX Court and Todd Lynch spoke about the AOT program, while Cathy Mote spoke about case management.

Bailey said that it really showed just how much compassion there was within the community, saying that he could really see his own passion for recovery reflected back from the others in the room.

“It really put into perspective how connected, compassionate and vibrant our community truly is. I’m very passionate about recovery so that’s what I took away from it,” he said. “Not only is the community working together to unite in the name of recovery but all the different programs that were represented that night, we work together,” 

Wecovery, Bailey said, was one of 40 ARSCs within Georgia, and an affiliate of Georgia Pines, which serves six counties within southwest Georgia, including Thomas, Grady, Decatur, Seminole and Mitchell County. 

“Wecovery is what we call an ARSC, an addiction recovery support center,” he said. “There are 40 of them across the state of Georgia and we are an affiliate of Georgia Pines System of Care. Georgia Pines serves six counties in southwest Georgia.”

Bailey said that the night was a smashing success and that they were eager to begin planning and getting other events ready for the community to get involved in. 

“Recovery is here in south Georgia,” he concluded.