The 2nd Annual Walk for Recovery will be held on Saturday, September 17th, 2022 at 10am, at the new Pottawatomie County Museum- Paul & Ann Milburn Center just north of the old Santa Fe Depot. It will begin and end in front of the new Pott County Museum on 9th St. There will be resources available onsite along with live music, carriage rides, inflatables and food! Participating in the mile walk in honor or memory of a loved one is encouraged. This walk is a free, family friendly event and registration is encouraged! When registering, you can purchase a walk t-shirt for $10! Register here or contact Abby Flood at aflood@gatewaytoprevention.org or 405-275-3391 for support.
Gateway holds the walk in September to recognize National Recovery Month and support the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, that prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover. The day’s festivities will bring together friends and families, local organizations and businesses, and Gateway’s providers, patients, and volunteers to break down the stigma of addiction and bridge the gap to community.
Coming out of the Weeds
One day you find yourself far from the intended path
You’re in the weeds, so the saying goes
You’re messed up, banged up, broken, broke and bruised... inside and out
Life. Is. A. Mess.
A moment comes, when you realize that change is needed
It hits when everything is feeling and failing, all at once
You’ve been on and off for so long, you don’t recognize its place...but you know
This feeling... it’s different.... it’s a revelation of sorts
So you scoop up the last bit of the warrior you have left in you
And exhausted, you go...
You take one small step in a seemingly promising direction, not even fully committed to the step
But, still, you go
You’re discombobulated to say the least, but still, you go
It feels hopeful and foreign and uncomfortable and inconsistent with the path you’ve been on
But you go
It is in this step, whether it’s the first, the 15th the 152nd, or the final step
You discover, one tiny bit of strength you had forgotten you had
Then.... you go, another and another
You meet a few, wretched, torn souls who are in the weeds like you
And if you allow it, you can collect some much needed strength from these souls
It resonates in you like hope, from their story of coming out of the weeds
You feel something in their story…
A familiarity? A connection?
So you decide, with whole hearted intention this time...
To take another step... and another and another
By this time... you continue to allow that connection to be your leaning post
Their strength becomes yours and your weakness helps them see their strength, and so the story goes...
In a intertwined connection of your strength and their weakness and your weakness and their strength...
Healing happens
We all help each other out of the pit... out of the weeds
And all it ever takes is one tiny step and a connection
That is the organic ability to heal the addiction we all share weakness in
And then one day, here you are... in a sun drenched memory of that time that you decided, to leap into the unknown direction of a thing that seemed like hope
And it was and it is
Hope and connection and recovery and pride and vision of a future
-Melissa High, Gateway Alumni