A hopeful welcome to the Center on Center
The Eagle’s recent Pathways to Recovery series offered a deep dive into the options available to those struggling with addiction.
As that series was winding down, the Butler County Drug and Alcohol program’s new Center on Center was winding up. On Wednesday, May 8, Eagle staff reporter Irina Bucur was in attendance as the center held its grand opening.
Among those on hand for the opening was Mallory Bole, a planning committee member. During the event, she greeted another woman — a probation officer who had at one time, at the height of Bole’s addiction, removed her child from her care.
Now a volunteer going on five years sober, Bole, a Navy veteran, said the grand opening of the center brought her face-to-face with people who, in the past, had either defended or prosecuted her in the court system.
Bole’s story is one of success in recovery, one that can offer hope to those who feel hopeless in their effort toward recovery.
Hope, support and community were among the themes of the day — themes that have carried countless people out of the darkness of addiction in places similar to the center. The Center on Center will now carry on those themes, offering yet another option for those struggling.
Rachel Shuster, chairperson of the center’s board of directors, and Jason Beckwith, center coordinator, spoke about the vision for the recovery center.
The center will be staffed by certified recovery specialists and people in recovery who can provide support and mentorship, Shuster said. Its mission is to foster an inclusive community empowering people to “unlock their full potential through education, transformative experiences, community connection and holistic recovery support.”
“We hope to foster a sort of nondenominational recovery community,” Shuster said. “We might have differences in our substance use histories, how severe (our addiction) was, or what recovery pathways we’re currently on, but the similarities — that is where we find healing, understanding, community and communication. And as the common saying goes, the opposite of addiction is connection.”
“Connection, love and acceptance matter,” Shuster said. “And it is for that reason that I hope anyone who ever enters these doors will find this to be a place where they are met with nonjudgmental acceptance — that they find connection, community and a sense of belonging … right here within these walls.”
While we all hope one day such centers will be unnecessary, we look forward to seeing the new center succeed in its efforts.
— RJ
