EVERETT—Approximately 300 people gathered at the Snohomish County Plaza on Thursday, August 28, to remember loved ones, share resources, and spread a message of action and hope during Hope Soldiers’ and Snohomish County’s ninth annual A Night To Remember, A Time To Act.
The evening began with a few words from Hope Soldiers’ founder and CEO Lindsey Arrington who thanked Snohomish County for its partnership, as well as local law enforcement, Snohomish County Judge Joe Wilson, Snohomish County Judge Karen Moore, and Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin.
“We’re glad to all share this space together as we, once again, take a moment to remember those we lost to overdose, and to also think of those who we know are still out there struggling, as well as honor and celebrate those in active recovery fighting for their lives,” said Arrington.
Arrington also mentioned that if anyone were in the crowd struggling with alcoholism or drug abuse they could be immediately escorted to detox if they wished, through Courage to Change.
Arrington then introduced two mothers, Cathi Lee and Debbie Warfield, who shared their stories about losing their children to drug addiction.
Warfield began by sharing that when her son Spender died from an overdose 13-years ago, she never imagined something like that would ever happen to her family. At first, she continued, her and her family kept Spencer’s passing to themselves, plagued by a perceived stigma that society would believe Spencer had done something wrong.
When she met Cathi Lee, who also had a son pass away from a drug overdose, the two decided they would become a voice for their community, to bring awareness to both opioid-related grief as well as those continuing to suffer from drug addiction.
Lee’s son Corey passed away in December of 2015 in his college dorm room. He was 20 years old.
“The misconceptions, the negative stigma, and stereotypes for addiction were ingrained in our family and, as a result, we kept that secret fiercely guarded,” said Lee. “We never imagined nine years ago that substance abuse and addiction would remain such a complicated, hot button, and pressing issue for this long.”
After Lee and Warfield shared their stories, a moment of silence was held for all those lost to substance abuse before a group of panelists were invited onto the stage to discuss housing and sober living options – the topic of this year’s event.
The panelists included: Geoffrey Godfrey, nurse practitioner with Conquer Clinics, Christina Anderson, VP and co-founder at Courage for Change, Wendy Iseman who lost her son to an overdose, Amy Wheat, Opioid Outreach Specialist with Snohomish County Human Services, and Taylor Maddison who is currently in recovery.
The conversation included a mother’s advice on how to deal with a child who was lost to addiction (the answer is stay connected and don’t give up, according to Iseman), resources (including free cost emergency recovery centers), and an emphasis on introducing those in recovery to necessities like housing and wraparound services.
“This work is hard because you fall in love with the people that you’re helping. These guys were our friends, but they just wanted to use one more time,” said Anderson. “If we keep codling addiction, over-and-over again, then they’ll never hit the bottom. I can’t take their pain away, it doesn’t do it justice for them or me, and that’s a hard lesson in this work that I have learned.”
Anderson added that the region already has a housing shortage but what’s really needed is a sober living facility for women particularly.
Godfrey touched on breaking the stigma of addiction which he said are “killing people” adding he’s “tired of losing another one.”
“My mission is to watch people heal. I get such a fulfilling joy when someone says hey Geoff, I’m nine days free,” said Godfrey. “But then I say, let’s make it a month, let’s make it a year.”
Taylor Maddison last spoke about her own personal journey with drugs and alcohol. After seeking treatment several times, relapsing, and losing her child Maddison turned to Hope Soldiers who she credited with saving her life and reuniting her to her child.
“Recovery is a blessing. I’m grateful every morning to wake up clean and not be a slave to addiction,” said Maddison.
This was the first year Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers could not attend. In his stead, representing the county, Amy Wheatman, with the Human Services Department, spoke about some of the challenges she faces when connecting individuals suffering from substance abuse into housing.
“Everyone has a special circumstance. Everyone has different needs and there are different houses for each of these people,” said Wheatman. “The biggest issue, in my world, is that we don’t have enough housing.”
If she had to pick one county investment, Wheatman would prioritize prevention adding there is an emphasis on treatment – which is still important – but prevention, especially with youths, is just as important if not more so.
Everett Mayor Cassie Frankling followed the panel with some exciting news regarding substance abuse treatment within the City of Everett.
The exciting news, Mayor Franklin shared, is that the City of Everett has added recovery housing as its priority in its current Housing Action Plan (HAP) and current Comprehensive Plan.
“Recovery Housing is one of the main strategies that we are going to be working towards. All our council recognizes the importance of this and all the staff who are a part of this city,” said Mayor Franklin. “But what we need is funding. The City of Everett can’t do this alone, we will advocating to the county, we will be advocating to the state, and obviously our federal partners to continue supporting this work. Recovery housing is an essential piece of this puzzle.”
Franklin knows firsthand the struggles of addiction, having a younger brother struggling substance abuse and a late mother in recovery – who was 19 years sober when she passed away.
“The City of Everett cares about this issue and we have done a lot with our community alternative response program, but we need housing,” said Mayor Franklin. “[And] people don’t just need a roof over their head they need services and accountability.”
After the panel a candlelight vigil was held to honor those who have lost their lives to substance abuse. Prior to the speaking portion of the event, a resource fair set up tents to connect individuals to local resources and answer any questions.
The vigil and resource fair were started nearly a decade ago by Cathi Lee and Debbie Warfield who wanted to bring together the information and resources they wish had been available to them when their families were struggling, and to create space to remember and honor loved ones lost too soon.
The event was coordinated in partnership with local nonprofit Hope Soldiers and Snohomish County. The resource fair included a variety of service providers with information and overdose prevention supplies such as naloxone to help individuals and families. Immediate transportation to detox was also available from the event, courtesy of Courage to Change.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
