We are so proud to tell you that this year’s Annual Luncheon, on Wednesday May 4th, 2022, at the Yadkin Valley Event Center, was a HUGE success! We are saddened that you were unable to attend but want to keep you up to date on our organizations, efforts, and needs.
This year was important, because due to COVID-19, last year the organization was unable to host their largest fundraising event of the year. Luckily, this year we were able to bring together around 120 people to share stories of hope, resilience, missions, and upcoming events. The Event was opened in prayer by R.C Griffin who is the pastor at North Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church and serves on the board of directors and RC shared with everyone quote which I hold near and dear to my heart, “If anyone is doing God’s work, here in Wilkes, it’s Wilkes Recovery Revolution.”
This year a family, touched by our organization’s work, was able to give their testimony and share on their collective journey of recovery. We appreciate Matthew Miller, Tiffany Cruz, and Sherry Thompson and their family for showing up and carrying a message of hope and sharing their experiences.
Matt shared his story which led him to being homeless sleeping out of his car, to jail, and then to transitional housing at Phases. Matt said “Getting into phases literally saved my life, not only did phases help pull me out of my addiction but taught me how to survive recovery. Early recovery is one of the hardest things I have ever been through because not only was I dealing with my own physical, spiritual, and emotional bankruptcy, I was grieving the loss of my partner who was still in active addiction”
With a simple question, Matt was able to beautifully encompass the work of the organization, “I cannot help but think where I would be, had Devin Lyall decided to recover in silence.”
The woman Matt was speaking of grieving was, Tiffany our next speaker who is a Veteran of the United States Air Force who was also his partner and the mother of their child. Tiffany shared about how for 20 + years she had used substances to cope with trauma, abuse, and neglect that she experienced growing up. Tiffany stated “I did not know anything about recovery. I knew you could go to detox and rehab. Other than that, I was clueless. So, thank God, while in detox a R3 peer support came and sat with me, and told me all the resources they provided. All I heard was a safe place because there was a waiting list to get into rehab, and I wondered what I was going to do with that time? The day after I got out of detox, I started attending R3 every day, open to close. While I was there, I met one-on-one with my peer support. We made these little goals, that I started accomplishing, and I started to get a little self-worth back. I got my Veterans Benefits, they signed me up for free classes, and they provided me with housing resources. What started as a safe place to keep me away from triggers: old people, places, and things turned into a transformation within myself. I was seeing this community of people, these employees that were recovering addicts living sustainable lives, being productive members of society. They were meeting peers where they were, offering encouragement and acceptance. I wanted any and everything that they had. So, after rehab, I started going to R3 again, open to close. I started volunteering which led to me presently being an R3 employee. It makes me so emotional because I never thought it was possible. It was never even on my radar.”
Sherry was the last speaker to carry a message of hope but defiantly not the least. Sherry Thompson is the mother of Matt and as she states “Mother in-love” to Tiffany. Sherry shared about how “Addiction is an illness, it’s a family illness, and it is terminal. Everyone stops using drugs at some point. The question is, will recovery be a part of that equation? Or will addiction be their life sentence, leaving grieving families, including children behind.” Sherry expressed her gratitude for her family and the help they received she said “I’m so thankful that I met Devin. I’m so thankful that God has equipped this team with skills and determination to build something bigger than my small vision for what Devin had in mind. I’m so grateful for the community and the support from each of you. So glad that this program was here when my family was in crisis.”
As if these messages of hope were not enough to explain our “why,” I shared my lived experiences and explained that when I needed help the services were not here in Wilkes County, therefore I made it my life mission to ensure that Wilkes would be a community where recovery is possible for all through, restoring hope, repairing lives and rebuilding community. I went on to share about our organization’s growth, and how we currently have 8 programs including Phases Transitional Housing, R3 Recovery Center, Hope Warriors, Fresh Start Farm, Wilkes Fresh Mobile Market, Revolution Thrift Store, Project HOW (Healing Our Workforce), and Wilkes Harm Reduction Collective. These programs are all under Wilkes Recovery Revolution, Inc’s umbrella of services to ensure we are creating a recovery eco-system that is offering wrap around person centered services where no person wanting a better life is left behind.
We rounded the luncheon out with Cam Finley receiving our first ever Recovery Community Champion Award. This award is given to someone who has gone above and beyond to carry out the mission of the organization, to create a community where recovery is possible through restoring hope, repairing lives, and rebuilding community. Cam accepted the award in honor of his son, Cameron Finley, who passed away in 2009 due to addiction. This award will now be given in honor of him for years to come at our annual luncheon through a voting process with the organization’s board of directors.
This year we presented participants with a pledge form in which we asked for support from the community to ensure our organization’s sustainability. Some of the things mentioned at the luncheon by the board chair, Cam Finley were staffing sustainability, capital improvements that needed to be done such as new windows and roofs on the transitional houses, crisis assistance funds, and more. We hope that you will be able to invest in recovery through the act of giving a donation to support our efforts.
