Runners take off at the start of last year’s walk/run.
Courtesy photo
PICKENS COUNTY – September is National Recovery Month and the Prevention Department of Behavioral Health Services of Pickens County has several events and programs coming up that aim to reduce stigma and show that recovery from substance use disorder is possible.
The Race for Recovery 5K Walk/Run is Saturday, Sept. 18 at the Pickens End of the Doodle Trail. Registration begins at 7:30am. Runners will start at 8am and walkers shortly afterward.
The walk/run is free, unless participants would like a race t-shirt, which are $25. Register by searching “Race for Recovery 5K” on go-greenevents.com.
This is the fifth year that the department has held a walk/run, once known as Hands Across the Carolinas but the 2021 event has been renamed to reflect a statewide focus on recovery.
The Embrace Recovery SC campaign launched in May.
Sara Goldsby is the Director of the SC Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services.
“It seems like we get together too often to talk about the consequences of addiction and the negative impact of the drug crisis but today we’re here to do just the opposite,” she said at the campaign’s kickoff event. “Today we’re here to celebrate the miracle of recovery. Recovery is a process of change, when people improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives and strive to reach their full potential,” she said.
Find resources at embracerecoverysc.com.
“The 5K is really intended to be a spotlight on those is recovery,” Director of Prevention Services Jessica Gibson said. “There are currently 348,000 South Carolinians living in recovery. We want folks in the community to embrace that and to embrace those in recovery all the time, but especially during Recovery Month.”
Dale Savidge with the Applied Theater Center has been working with BHSPC clients, using their real-life experiences to develop a new play. “Circling Down” will be performed 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5 at the Pickens County Performing Arts Center in Liberty. The play is free to attend.
“Circling Down is going to focus on stigma surrounding those with a substance use disorder,” Gibson said. “Addressing stigma and those preconceived notions about people with this disease will, hopefully, eliminate some of those biases so that if someone is suffering from substance use disorder, they feel comfortable and safe enough to seek treatment.”
Breann Griffin-Nicholson is the department’s Community Engagement Director. She’s leading its Job Readiness Training “so that clients in recovery have an opportunity to take a class where they’re able to learn about how to get a job, how to set goals and head in the right direction on the road to recovery,” she said.
The first four-week session of classes begins on Oct. 5. Students have the option to attend class either on Tuesdays from 12:15pm – 1:15pm or on Thursdays from 4:45pm – 5:45pm.
“The classes are also open to the public,” Griffin-Nicholson said.
The course’s guide will “help people find and develop skills, set goals and prepare for career success,” she said.
“We’ll do goal setting, job exploration, job preparation and then they’ll also be learning about the soft skills necessary for success,” Griffin-Nicholson said.
The class will also cover career assessment, resume creation and dressing appropriately for a job interview, she said.
“They’ll do mock interviews so that they can be prepared,” Griffin-Nicholson said.
Sign up for the classes by dropping by the Prevention Office at 303 E. Main Street in Pickens or calling the office at 864-898-5800.
Future four-week Job Readiness Training sessions are in the works.
A goal for the department is to create a clothes closet that will accept donations of professional-type outfits and shoes, allowing students to pick out clothing to wear for job interviews, Griffin-Nicholson said.
Griffin-Nicholson is seeking businesses that are friendly to those in recovery “that either have jobs available right now or maybe in the future so that we can supply those to our clients,” she said.
“We’ve also put together a resource guide so that those in recovery have everything they need, as far as job assistance, housing assistance, food assistance, all kinds of things,” Griffin-Nicholson said.