BC3 recovery support participants volunteering at Butler park
Participants in Butler County Community College’s “Hope is Dope” substance abuse recovery support program, along with others in recovery, are volunteering to help clean up and make repairs at the skate park at Father Marinaro Park in Butler.
The volunteers will join volunteers from the South Side Park Group and the Butler Hip Hop and Rap Community to work at the park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 28
Together, they will paint and repair ramps, collect debris, replace hand rails on ramps, attach barriers against decking and paint the ramps electric green and ocean blue.
Doing that kind of work “gets people who are in recovery active in the community,” said Ken Clowes, BC3’s community initiatives center assistant, who is leading the effort.
BC3’s community initiatives center administers the college’s “Reset Your Brain: A Revolutionary Approach to Opioid Addiction and Recovery.” The initiative meets a goal in the college’s 2017-22 strategic plan to improve the quality of life in the community.
BC3’s free Hope is Dope classes began in April 2018 and its Hope Nights in December 2018.
Working at the park also will help to “reduce the stigma that some people have toward people in recovery,” Clowes said.
“Kids need to see that you can recover, have a normal life and participate in the community,” said Cindy Parker, president of the South Side Park Group that formed in 2018 to care for Father Marinaro Park.
“Positive reinforcement,” said Everett Roy, president of the nonprofit Butler Hip Hop and Rap Community. “Get out there and focus on something bigger than yourself.”
Other people in recovery from substance abuse who would like to volunteer should contact Clowes at 724-287-8711 ext. 8172 or kenneth.clowes@bc3.edu.
