Spero event aims to break substance abuse stigma

With funds from a Steele County nonprofit grant, Spero will kick off Recovery Awareness Month Sept. 6 with an event in Owatonna that sheds light on the local recovery community.

“One piece of Spero’s grant proposal was to host a sober support community event,” Treatment Director Renee Lips-Bush said. “Spero’s substance use and recovery program staff wanted to put on an event that all Steele County residents could attend to spread awareness of substance use disorders and recovery.”

She explained the first goal of the event is to bring people together for a family friendly, sober event.

“We want people to have an opportunity to listen to individuals with lived experience, enjoy activities, listen to music, learn about area resources, and support one another whether you are someone in recovery from a substance use disorder or an ally, someone who supports people in recovery,” Lips-Bush said.

Then there is the goal of working towards breaking the stigma that comes with substance abuse issues.

“When you hear words like addict, junkie, alcoholic, drug abuser, most people don’t have positive reactions,” Lips-Bush said. “Research has shown that most individuals have negative connotations associated with those words, because society often views an individual with a substance use disorder as someone lacking warmth, poorly educated, dangerous, unpredictable, immoral, unworthy, dirty, and so on. We want to change that. The substance use and recovery team has seen firsthand how stigma can debilitate, demoralize, and destroy people.”

Lips-Bush said there are staff at Spero in recovery who have talked about how “stigma has impacted their own recovery.”

“It can lead people to avoid or delay treatment and decrease engagement and desire to complete treatment,” Lips-Bush said. “Stigma can decrease an individual’s self-efficacy, sense of personal empowerment and hope. It can increase the likelihood of recurrence, the word our program uses instead of relapse, of use and social exclusion. Spero’s substance use and recovery team want this to change. We want people to understand what a substance use disorder is and how we can support one another in whatever someone’s recovery journey looks like.”

The event will include a bounce house, food trucks, kids art table with crafts, guest speakers and music.

There will also be vendors with information on substance use disorder programs, other community support programs, and naloxone training.

Lips-Bush gave special thanks to Dixie Denhof, who helped organize the event.

“Dixie is the substance use and recovery program’s Certified Peer Recovery Specialist. She has worked so hard to make this event happen,” Lips-Bush said. “I cannot tell you how many phone calls, emails, and businesses she has visited the past few months. This event would not be happening without her hard work.”

The “Break the Stigma” event is set to take place on Sept. 6 at Central Park in Owatonna, from 1 to 5 p.m.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or substance abuse, reach out to Spero for assistance at 800-722-0590, and someone will help guide you through the services available in the community to meet your individual needs.