Appalachian Recovery event

08/31/2026

08/29/2026

Comment there names and pictures in the comments.

August is Overdose Awareness Month—a time to remember the lives lost, support the families left behind, and remind everyone that addiction can affect anyone. Recovery is possible, and no one should ever feel ashamed to ask for help. Every life matters, and every person deserves another chance. 💜

08/29/2026

My names Desiree im 38 years old I was a addict for most of my life I have 5 kids and lost custody of all of them i have had endocarditis 4 times and 3 heart valve replacements (open heart surgeries) My sobriety date is 10/01/2022 and I never dreamed I could have the life I have today I have custody of my youngest son and hope to have all my kids in my life one day and I am a manager at my store and I bought my first brand new car the longer I stay sober and the closer to God I get the better my life gets we do recover no matter how hopeless we may seem

08/29/2026

Hi everyone, I’m Charleigh Patton, cofounder of the Appalachian Recovery Event.

For 16 years, I was stuck in active drug addiction. Addiction robbed me of my dignity, my children, and nearly everything I had. I felt completely alone, and for a long time, I believed there was no way out for someone like me.

On November 28, 2019, my life began to change. I fought my way out of addiction and started rebuilding everything I had lost. I went back to school, fought to regain custody of my children, built a career helping others in recovery, and created a life that once felt impossible. Today, I am a certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist, a college graduate, a mother who is present for her children, and a woman who uses her story to remind others that recovery is possible.

The Appalachian Recovery Event was created because no one should have to recover alone. Appalachia has been hit hard by addiction, but our communities are also filled with strength, love, faith, and people who believe in second chances. This event is about bringing those people together, celebrating recovery, remembering those we have lost, and showing those who are still struggling that there is hope.

I am not ashamed of where I came from because my past is proof that people can change. No matter how far addiction has taken you, your story does not have to end there. I know because mine didn’t.

08/28/2026

💜 Overdose Awareness Month 💜

There was a time when my addiction took me places I never imagined I would go. It took pieces of me—my peace, my self-respect, my relationships, and my ability to see a future worth fighting for. I became someone I barely recognized, just trying to survive the life my addiction had created.

Eventually, I had a choice: keep losing myself, or fight like hell to get myself back.

My motivation to get sober was simple—I wanted my life back. I wanted freedom. I wanted to heal instead of hurt, to live instead of merely exist, and to become the woman I knew was still somewhere underneath all the wreckage.

Today, my life isn’t perfect. But it is mine. I have peace. I have purpose. I have hope. I get to wake up and make choices based on who I am—not what my addiction demands of me.

The woman in the before picture didn’t know if she would ever make it here.

The woman in the after picture knows she never wants to go back.

Recovery didn’t just save my life. It gave me a life worth living.

This Overdose Awareness Month, remember: behind every statistic is a person, a story, a family, and a life that matters. Recovery is possible. 💜🕊️

08/28/2026

Addiction took me to places I never thought I’d go. I lost myself, my son, my freedom, and almost my life more than once. I went through treatment three times before I finally reached a point where I was willing to stop running and do whatever it took to recover.

My sobriety date is July 29, 2023. Recovery wasn’t some magical moment where everything suddenly got better. I had to rebuild my life one day, one decision, and one uncomfortable step at a time.

Today, I’m over 3 years sober. I’m a wife, a mom rebuilding the relationship addiction once stole from me, a Peer Recovery Support Specialist, an author, and someone who gets to use the darkest parts of my story to hopefully help somebody else find their way out.

I recover out loud because I remember being the person who thought there was no way out. There is. Recovery is possible. I am living proof. 💜

08/28/2026

My name is Kelia. I’m 28 years old, and I am a recovering addict.

I grew up surrounded by addiction, watching it destroy the people I loved. I remember wondering how someone could choose drugs over their children, their family, or their life—until I became the person I once judged.

For five years, addiction took me places I swore I’d never go. I lost my children, my home, my freedom, and eventually myself. I experienced homelessness, jail, meth-induced psychosis, and reached a point where my life no longer felt worth living.

When my son was born, he was taken from me. A month later, I was arrested, and I truly believed my story was over for good this time.

But what I saw as my ending, God was using as my beginning.

I was given one more chance. I went to treatment, entered a faith-based recovery program, found Christ, and began rebuilding a life I never thought I would have again.

Today, I am three years sober, raising my son with full custody, and a Certified Recovery Life Coach. The woman who once couldn’t understand addiction now uses her story to help others find their way out of it.

There was a time when my parents checked to make sure I was still breathing. Today, I get to use that same breath to tell others that recovery is possible.

My story is proof that no one is too far gone. Redemption is real. Recovery IS possible. And sometimes the story you were once ashamed to tell becomes the very story God uses to save someone else. 💜