Walking Together: Celebrate Recovery

This year’s Celebrate Recovery Walk brought together residents, families, and community partners to honor resilience and raise awareness about the importance of mental wellness. Walking side by side, participants carried messages of encouragement and hope, reminding one another that no one walks this journey alone.

This was the second year the Mental Health & Recovery Board (MHRB) hosted this event during Recovery Month; with poetry being included. Participants read original works that reflected their recovery journey or shared other meaningful passages. Everyone was deeply moved and impressed with the stories and messages of healing and hope. 

"We named this event 'Celebrate Recovery' because recovery should be celebrated! We want to show those in recovery and the community we understand the journey to recovery can be long and difficult, but we are there to support and walk alongside,” explained event organizer Gina Dufour of the MHRB. “The poetry portion of this event sheds light onto what recovery truly looks and feels like; we can see recovery from an outside perspective, but to hear from a personal account makes you connect in a more empathetic way." 

The event began with a resource fair with many community partners sharing information accumulating in a raffle for attendees before the group walked to the beautiful garden of Kent State University’s Wick Poety Center.

By the end of the event, it was clear that the walk was not only about raising awareness—it was about lifting each other up.

The Board would like to thank the Wick Poetry Center for hosting the readings and for the organizations that shared resources before the event: Axess Family Services, BrightView, Coleman Health Services, Hope Town, NAMI, OUR Place, Portage County Health District, Portage County Veterans Service Commission, Recovery Works, Townhall II, and Welcome to Recovery.