A 5k race organized by the Gateway Foundation in Springfield brought community members together to raise money for people going through drug addiction recovery in Central Illinois.
The event, called the Gateway Foundation Springfield’s HOPE 5K, was held on June 30 and welcomed more than 120 community members. In addition to runners, other attendees included volunteers and sponsors who gathered in the morning at Southwind Park.
The race raised over $10,000 to assist people who are unable to afford to pay for addiction recovery services themselves and are committed to continuing their journey to a healthier lifestyle but need professional support by choosing to live in a sober living facility.
The representatives of the Gateway Foundation stated that the money raised during the event is expected to be enough to cover the accommodation costs at a drug addiction recovery home for at least 25 people for one month.
However, they also highlighted that the average length of time that people who are recovering from a substance use disorder spend at a sober living facility varies from six to 12 months.
The Gateway Foundation has been providing professional addiction treatment services to people struggling with any type of substance use disorder throughout several different areas of Illinois for over 45 years.
In Springfield, the foundation has two different facilities with a medical staff trained to offer several evidence-based treatment methods to the patients. One facility provides outpatient drug addiction rehabilitation programs, including group and individuals counseling sessions, educational gatherings, 12-step programs, relapse prevention resources, medication-assisted therapy, team building opportunities, and more.
The other Gateway Foundation Springfield addiction treatment facility offers several of the aforementioned services but instead, it is a specialized inpatient substance abuse recovery center.
Gateway’s inpatient addiction treatment center aims to meet the needs of the male and female patients individually and in separate, gender-specific programs. The inpatient treatment center also features programs designed specifically for individuals who have been mandated to seek help from local courts or other law enforcement agencies and for teenagers with substance use disorders.
For the teenagers and for all of the other people who have academic responsibilities, the inpatient facility provides on-campus educational programs in partnership with the Springfield School District number 186.
The representatives of the healthcare foundation have stated that they have been able to provide so many kinds of addiction treatment services for the residents of Illinois for so many years because they have been receiving continuous support from members of different communities throughout the state.
After last weekend’s event, several Springfield residents resorted to social media channels to thank the foundation for their help and for organizing the event that brought so many members of the community together to support others in need.
After the 5k race, the attendees were invited to join a balloon release celebration, which was intended to give the public an opportunity to celebrate people’s future progress as well as the lives that were lost to substance use disorders.
Author: Livia Areas-Holmblad
Livia Holmblad is an editor at Addiction Now and covers breaking news, features and everything in between. She moved to SoCal after living in NYC for about 10 years, where she worked for VICE and SinoVision as a writer, editor, host, producer, and director. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. Contact Livia at liviah@addictionnow.com
