On the quiet Saturday morning of Sept. 20, community members gathered at the Kent United Church of Christ for the “Celebrate Recovery! Walk & Poetry Reading,” now in its second year, honoring the strength found in healing through walking, connection and poetry.

Hosted by the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County, the event offered a mix of resources, creativity and community connection for those impacted by mental health and addiction recovery.

“This is about perseverance and support,” said Gina Dufour, project coordinator for the Mental Health & Recovery Board and lead organizer of the event. “You can go through recovery alone if you have the willpower, but it’s so much more meaningful when people support you in that journey.”

The event kicked off at 9 a.m. with tables from local organizations offering information, resources and refreshments. Participants also had the chance to win raffle prizes before heading out on a walk down East Main Street toward Kent State University.

Maxine Righi, community outreach coordinator for BrightView, an outpatient recovery service, was one of the many tabling representatives. 

“Having a substance use disorder is not always a choice. No one wakes up and says, ‘I think I’m going to become an addict,’” she said. “I came because I care about the community I work in, and I want to make a difference.”

The walk culminated in a poetry reading held in the garden of the Wick Poetry Center. Among the readers was Rootstown Township resident Janice Prisand, who shared a poem detailing her recovery journey. She had previously spoken about the vital role of community support in her healing.

“I had a lot of help along the way,” Prisand said. “These people supported me. … They helped me so much to keep my spirits up. These people kept me here. There was just a lot of love.”

For Prisand and many others, the event was more than a walk or a poetry reading. It was a reminder that recovery is a shared path, fueled by inner strength and sustained through community.

Dufour emphasized that the walk, started just last year, was created as a substitute for the traditional National Alliance on Mental Illness Walk that had been paused in Portage County. 

“We still wanted to support those in recovery, whether that’s mental health or addiction. So we called it the Recovery Walk and just made it all-encompassing,” she said. “We’ll keep doing it until NAMI is ready to bring back their walk.”

At the heart of the event was a shared understanding of what recovery really means. 

“Recovery is overcoming your barrier, whatever it is, and getting the help that’s needed,” Righi said.

Dufour hopes participants left with more than just pamphlets or raffle prizes. 

“I hope people walk away with a deeper understanding of what recovery looks like,” she said. “To hear about it firsthand hits different. I hope people leave today feeling inspired by the people who spoke.”

Alexis Hood is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].