Battling addiction and finding recovery is the subject of this week’s Feel-Good Friday.
Thanks to former First Lady Betty Ford, alcohol addiction and recovery were brought out of the shadows to front and center of the American consciousness. Should former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump win the White House, vice presidential candidate JD Vance, and more specifically his mother Bev, will give opioid addiction and recovery a powerful push forward. Bev celebrated nine years of sobriety on January 19, 2024. As reported by Cinemaholic, she wrote on her Facebook page.
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“Thanks to my higher power, NA, my family, and my friends [whom] I choose to call family, we celebrate 9 years clean and sober today. God is good,” she shared at the time. Her grandchildren are an integral part of her current life. In addition to the kids of her firstborn, Lindsay, she also formed a bond with J.D.’s family. After his first son, Ewan, was born, the politician was able to experience a new dimension of his relationship with Bev.
During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Vance forecast that they could celebrate Bev’s 10-year anniversary of sobriety at the White House. The audience went wild, and started chanting “JD’s mom! JD’s mom!” What a glorious moment. Along with Bev’s community that is helping her stay sober, she now has the nation rooting for her.
In 2022, North Carolina Rep. Greg F. Murphy, M.D. wrote about the scourge of the fentanyl crisis in the United States.
For the first time in the history of the United States, our nation surpassed 100,000 overdoses in a 12-month period. Of those 100,000 overdose fatalities reported from April 2020 to April 2021, over 64,000 deaths were due to fentanyl — a synthetic opioid that is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
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Overdose from the drug has become the leading cause of death among adults, aged 18 to 45. Just in the year between April 2020 to April 2021, fentanyl claimed 40,010 lives–more than COVID-19 (21,335), cancer (17,114), car accidents (22,442), and suicide (21,678) respectively. We are losing a generation of young people and so many others because of this scourge. But Bev Vance’s and other stories give us hope that it can be overcome.
A Vancouver, Washington, couple named Jonathan and Treva Wittner were both addicted, but it was the prospect of never being able to be in their grandchildren’s lives that helped them to turn their lives around .
Over the years, the Wittners have faced many obstacles together — and overcome them. Both struggled with addiction. But more than four years ago, the couple made the pledge to recover.
Treva Wittner said her grandchildren were a large motivation for getting clean and sober.
“My kids went through our addiction with us, and when my son had said when my daughter-in-law got pregnant, that his kids would not be around us and addiction, I thought: ‘No, I need to be in their lives,’ because family is so important,” Treva said. “Now, I’m a part of my grandkids’ lives.”
They even ended up homeless in the midst of their recovery, but it did not get them off the path.
But fresh into their recovery, the couple became homeless. Family members they were living with moved to another state and sold their home. The Wittners couldn’t afford the high cost of rent.
For about a year, they stayed with friends and family, but mostly lived in their car.
“It was a hard experience, horrible. Reality just smacked us in the face,” Treva Wittner said.
However, the two persevered. Although challenging, they continued attending their addiction support groups to sustain their recovery. They also faced a lot of trouble getting into shelters because they couldn’t find a place that would take them together.
“We’ve spent half a lifetime together. It was scary to think that we might have to be split up,” Treva Wittner said.
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In September 2022, the Wittners attended a recovery celebration event called Hands Across the Bridge, held at Living Hope Church. The pastor, Brian Norris, spoke about a housing resource called Hope Village, and Jonathan Wittner dogged Norris to see if they had openings. In four days, the Wittners had housing. A year after that, they were able to transition to their own apartment..
They use their experiences and struggles to help others with their recovery. Jonathan Wittner became an outreach worker and recovery coach at Hope Village, and Treva Wittner joined the staff of a Safe Stay community for recovering addicts. After 30 years of marriage, they even renewed their wedding vows with Pastor Brian Norris officiating.
Faith, whether Christian or otherwise, is a huge part of a successful recovery from addiction. Hand up to Victory, a Florida faith-based recovery non-profit, has helped hundreds of addicts break the cycle and rebuild their lives. Executive Director and founder Justin Halas was addicted for 15 years, and relapsed over 150 times before he turned the corner on recovery.
He relapsed more than 150 times until, finally, he got what he calls “the gift of desperation.”
“Long story short, it basically ruined my life and ruined everyone’s life around me,” Halas said.
He was desperate to quit, but starting over wasn’t so simple. Once out of jail, Halas had nothing – no money, car, home, job, family or friends. But thanks to those he knew in the church and recovery community, he quit once and for all.
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For those battling addiction and seeking to recover, it really does take a village; a village of faith is an added plus.
Within 24 hours, they can get someone into a safe, sober living home, connect them with transportation, a phone, replacement ID, food, clothing and whatever else they need. And, they’ve partnered with local businesses that are willing to give convicted felons a shot.
“We see so many people that they’re getting vehicles back,” Halas said, “they’re getting careers that they love, and most important, the next step is they’re getting their own places, and they’re getting their families back in their life.”
They also host a weekly recovery group called “High on Jesus” at First United Methodist Church of Bradenton. Think of it like AA with a whole lot of faith.
Similar to Bev Vance, Justin Halas has celebrated 10 years of sobriety and will see Year 11 in November.
“I thought one day sober was impossible, because it was,” Halas said. “Don’t give up hope. We do recover. Complete sobriety is possible.”