‘Recovery In the Streets’ 4th annual event to be held Thursday in Albany

ALBANY, Ga. – Members of Aspire Health and The Change Center will be working with the City of Albany this Thursday as they hold their 4th annual ‘Recovery In the Streets’ event, raising awareness about addiction.

Change Center Program Director, Alesha Burgman says their fourth annual event is to help families understand the impacts of addiction.

“This year we have partnered with the Georgia Council for Recovery, with mobilize recovery across Georgia, and the DBHDD (Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities). Mobilize recovery across Georgia has a bus tour, and this is a major stop along that bus tour,” said Alesha Burgman, Program Director, The Change Center.

In years past, they’ve put on a free concert to help draw people downtown and this year will be no different.

As Burgman says, this is a great opportunity for families to learn about the resources they have available to them to combat addiction.

“I just want everybody to know that recovery is real. That we do recover, we recover together, and it’s about the community. So at the change center, we try to promote change, empower choice…” said Burgman.

And given the more than 60 overdose deaths since the start of 2021 in Dougherty County, it’s important to hammer home the message in a public space.

“So, the overdose rate was extremely high last year. And the way that we combat that is with the amnesty law. So the more that people know about the law, the better they’re able to help prevent overdose,” said Burgman.

But, more than anything else, they want people to know that recovery helps rebuild a community.

“So, addiction doesn’t just effect the individual, it effects the entire family, so does recovery. So, as the person recovers, it gives the entire family an opportunity to recover. Cause we know that the opposite of addiction is connection,” said Burgman.

With the backing of the Albany Police Drug Unit and multiple groups, aspire and the change center are hoping that families will be able to understand the resources they have available to combat addiction.

The ‘Recovery In the Streets’ event will take place this Thursday, the 7th, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Flint Riverquarium.

Brian Roche reporting.

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