Dayton937

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

FOA

FOA Rally 4 Recovery At Courthouse Square Today

By

For the second year in a row, Montgomery County in 2017 had the state’s highest rate of accidental overdose deaths. But Dayton people are working hard to address this problem, and the death rate has slowed dramatically in recent months.

One group that’s done a lot is FOA Families of Addicts, a grass-roots recovery support group founded by Dayton’s Lori Erion. The organization is hosting the 5th Annual Rally 4 Recovery today from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at Courthouse Square. I was one of their volunteer photographers last year, and I’m looking forward to taking photos again today.

This photo from last year shows some of the 2,200 people who attended. The man in the suit in the lower left is guest speaker (and Ohio’s Attorney General) Mike DeWine.

For more information about Families of Addicts, or to donate, visit http://www.foafamilies.org/.

The FOA Rally 4 Recovery goal is to unite the people and resources of our community to raise awareness about substance use and mental health disorders, eliminate the stigma associated with them and SHOW that RECOVERY WORKS.

50 Resources will be in attendance!

NARCAN TRAINING before and after the event. Visit this link to register:
http://www.foafamilies.org/narcan-training-foa-rally

• Guest Speakers
• Balloon Launch
• BIG PICTURE of Recovery
• 50 Resource Tables
• Food Trucks
• Live Music
• Raffle
• Canvas of hope
• TapSnap Digital Photo Booth

Free Narcan Training

By

Project DAWN is a community-based overdose education and naloxone distribution program.

Project DAWN participants receive training on: • Recognizing the signs and symptoms of overdose • Distinguishing between different types of overdose • Performing rescue breathing • Calling emergency medical services • Administering intranasal Naloxon

FOA’s Rally 4 Recovery Shows Support For Those Dealing With Opioid Addiction

By

Lori Erion, Founder of FOA

Dayton has been a good place for me to live and raise a family, but our area has more than its share of problems. Fortunately, Dayton is filled with good people working to address those problems.  The opioid epidemic is one of Dayton’s worst problems and Lori Erion and her organization FOA Familes of Addicts is doing something about it.

“I started FOA when I learned that my daughter was using drugs,” Lori told me. “The goal was to bridge the gulf between addicts and their families. Sharing our experiences gives us strength and hope. We started with a small weekly meeting in Dayton and now it’s grown into a large weekly meeting in Dayton plus weekly meetings in cities in four other counties.”

“The purpose of our grass-roots organization is to reduce the stigma of addiction, to ensure availability of adequate recovery support services and to influence public opinion regarding the value of recovery.   Money is always a problem.  But the need is so great that we must find ways to continue to build FOA.”

FOA had their annual Rally 4 Recovery Sunday at Courthouse Square, and I volunteered to be one of the event’s photographers.  This photo only shows part of the crowd.  Another photographer went up on a lift so that he could get a photo of everyone. 

The rally also had speakers, including Ohio’s Attorney General Mike DeWine.  And there was music, information booths, face painting for the kids and a balloon launch.  The balloons came in four colors – YELLOW to represent those in long-term recovery, RED for those still struggling, WHITE for those who are gone but not forgotten and GREEN for anyone touched with mental illness.   There was also a big media presence.  I saw several people from local TV stations, one person from the NBC Nightly News, and two people working on a documentary film.  

This is the kind of organization that I love to support.  All of the workers are volunteers – no one gets a salary.  When you donate money it goes directly to programs.  You can support FOA by donating at http://www.foafamilies.org/donations.

 

Courthouse Square was packed for the Rally.

FOA Families of Addicts Holds ‘Celebrating Solutions’ Fundraiser

By

Local non-profit organization advocating for recovery to host event in Dayton

Logo-Final_sq_noBorderRecovery advocate nonprofit FOA Families of Addicts has partnered with El Meson Restaurant for ‘Celebrating Solutions,’ an after-work fundraiser marking two years of progress in promoting recovery, providing support, and encouraging advocacy. The event will take place at El Meson (903 E. Dixie Drive) on Thursday, August 4, from 4:30 – 7 p.m.

Dayton recently made headlines as the nation’s top-ranked city for opiate overdose deaths. Despite this, FOA continues to save lives and positively impact the regional community with support and advocacy across five counties by holding support meetings that welcome anyone touched by addiction to come together for assistance, friendship, and education and providing community outreach throughout the Miami Valley. FOA stands out among mutual aid addiction organizations by providing support for the entire families and empowering individuals to find their voices and tell their stories instead of remaining anonymous, thereby working to eliminate stigmas associated with addiction. In 2016 to date, FOA’s total meeting attendance has increased 31% as FOA prepares for its 3rd annual Rally 4 Recovery on August 28 in Courthouse Square.

“Everybody knows somebody,” said FOA founder Lori Erion. “In a time where deaths and tragedy from opiate addiction are so prevalent, FOA impacts the entire family and we want to celebrate the successes. People can and do recover.”

The El Meson event will offer a host of assorted tapas and soft drinks in an open house-style environment among community partners and supporters as FOA shares its progress. “Mocktails” and cocktails will also be available for purchase.

“Everything we do here is about community and bringing people together,” said El Meson co-owner Bill Castro. “Whether it’s bringing them together through love of good food, the love that family and friends share, or in support of a cause that’s doing important work in the region, at the end of the day, it’s important to us that we help people come together. We’ve been working closely with Families of Addicts, and we’ve come up with a pretty special evening I think will be fitting of their accomplishments.”

Tickets for the event are $30; half of each ticket will go toward FOA’s mission. They can be purchased at Eventbrite.com.

About FOA
FOA’s mission statement is “Embracing families, friends and individuals struggling with addiction in order to promote recovery, provide support and encourage advocacy.” The organization currently holds support meetings in five counties that welcome both loved ones and those seeking or in long-term recovery to come together for support, friendship and education. FOA has recently began a program of peer support and plans to continue growing and fighting for individuals and families affected by addiction. Details about meetings, the Rally and updates on the organization can be found on facebook.com/FOAfamilies or FOAfamilies.org.