Recovery Walk at Eastwood Field celebrates sobriety journeys

NILES  The Alliance of Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) held it's 12th annual Recovery Rally and Walk Saturday.

About 800 people made their way to Eastwood Field in Niles to celebrate those in recovery.

The event featured a resource fair, basket raffle, games, an addiction memorial, scavenger hunt, inflatables, a meet and greet with Scrappy and free Narcan kits.

Friends, family and supporters cheered on loved ones during the walk.

The participants are all in different phases of their recovery journeys. Some just embarked on their sobriety path while others are going on 50 years sober.

One organizer said the walk helps highlight the positive side of addiction recovery.

"A lot of times we hear about overdoses and negative things happening but we don't hear about all of the recovery happening in our community," Lauren Thorp, Associate Director of the Trumbull Mental Health and Recovery Board and ASAP Project Director, said. "The Recovery Rally is a truly inspiring day where we as a community can come together to support those in recovery, honor loved ones we have lost to addiction and together help change the stigma surrounding addiction and recovery."

ASAP began 15 years ago with the mission to help community members successfully manage substance problems, ensuring future generations won't be impacted.