Young People in Recovery aims to break cycle of addiction
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
LLANO — People battling addiction are invited to attend an interest meeting for Young People in Recovery on March 29.
The meeting is 6 p.m. at the Llano County Library, 102 E. Haynie St.
Rhonda Herridge, who serves as the chapter leader, said people of all ages are encouraged to attend.
This gathering is about meeting others, finding out the needs of those in attendance and the best ways to meet them. One part of the meeting will be to talk about fundraisers, she said.
The organization was founded by Justin Luke Riley, Doug Rudolph and Mike DeAgro “to bring about change for people in recovery,” said Herridge, who leads Faith’s Door, an organization dedicated to “helping moms who find themselves in bad situations.”
“If we don’t come together, these people aren’t going to change,” she said. “If you leave them where they’re at, they’re not going to get better.”
It’s a vicious cycle, Herridge said. Many people who are battling addiction have a felony and little education. Therefore, it’s difficult for them to find a job, which leads to not having a car or adequate housing, she said. And some, even if they can find employment, are challenged to keep it if they don’t have reliable transportation.
“They’re a menace to society because they can’t help themselves,” the leader said. “We need to educate them. Most in recovery have lost everything and are at a point in their lives where no one wants to help them.”
Herridge said the goal of Young People in Recovery is to bring the community together to help break that cycle.
And she hopes to one day have a recovery house in the city.
But first thing’s first, she said. Right now, it’s about finding opportunities for those fighting addiction, which, in turn, will give them hope, Herridge said.
“We need to put a workforce together so they can learn and work,” she said. “If they don’t have that, most of them aren’t going to (change) because they don’t have the means.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com
1 thought on “Young People in Recovery aims to break cycle of addiction”
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Thanks for sharing this. I like that the cycle of unavailable opportunity that accompanies addiction and recovery was mentioned. For people overcoming addiction, it’s important to be shown that it’s possible to live a normal, productive life again after such a tough battle, and programs like these could help with that.