Recovery Month Celebration at Clarksburg Baptist Church

CLARKSBURG, W.Va (WDTV) - September is National Recovery Month and people in our area are celebrating overcoming addiction.

West Virginians are living with an ongoing opioid crisis. Thousands have tragically died, but many more are regaining their lives.

Tuesday September 19th, Celebrate Recovery will be hosting a special dinner at the Clarksburg Baptist Church.

Celebrate Recovery’s Ministry Leader Lou Ortenzio says it’s important to show people the path out of addiction.

“Hope is real as the slogan goes our catchphrase is for recovery month and together if we all work together, we can all get better, together we are stronger is the other catchphrase; so I’m hopeful today we are addressing the problems and we have many more resources that we’ve ever had before,” said Ortenzio.

Ortenzio is also the director of the Clarksburg Mission and has struggled with substance use disorder.

The celebrate recovery dinner begins at 5:30pm and the meeting starts at 6:30pm.

The event is open to all and focuses on breaking the cycle for all kinds of addiction.

“We have a tradition in Appalachia and elsewhere of using chemicals to address our problems, covering up our feelings, our emotions, our problems with substances and it’s not uncommon for families to have that as a modality that’s learned,” said Ortenzio.

The evening will have a ceremony remembering those who have lost their lives to substance use disorder.

Narcan will also be given out to those in attendance. Ortenzio says the opioid reversal drug has saved countless lives from overdose and can help guide someone to recovery.

Ortenzio says that Celebrate Recovery goes beyond overcoming addiction.

“Our recovery is not just for addiction recovery, it’s for any kind of struggle, anything that separates us from God’s plan for our life; any as we say, hurt, habit, or hang-up,” said Ortenzio.

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