Johanna Terwilliger, a graduate of Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center, talks at a the center's annual luncheon at the Butler Country Club on Wednesday. Terwilliger spoke about how the programs at Gaiser helped her. Cary Shaffer/Butler Eagle

PENN TWP — A little glimmer of hope.

Tammy Schuey, president of the Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Center’s board of directors, said that is what the center offers people whose hope of beating addiction has dimmed and nearly flickered out.

“I firmly believe we save lives at the Gaiser Center,” Schuey told the 120 people who attended the center’s annual Community Luncheon on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at Butler Country Club.

Johanna Terwilliger, whose sober date is May 21, 2019, said she was born into circumstances fraught with violence and addiction, but finally sought help when she hit her personal rock bottom.

“I ended up at the Gaiser Center, which was a godsend,” Terwilliger said. “They gave me something I never had: love. And they didn’t judge me.”

Terwilliger listed the dozens of things she lost as a result of her addiction, and even more things gained after recovering.

“Most importantly, I gained myself,” she said.

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