Saturday September 21st, the Illinois Helpline attended the National Rally for Recovery in Chicago, Illinois at the UIC Credit Union 1 Arena. The event was a complete success! The weekend started off with a Pre-Rally social on Friday to gather and kickoff the weekend events. There were 300+ attendees and dozens of community partners and sponsors present at the Rally over the course of the day. Attendees were able to engage with over forty local organizations and resources and received tons of take-home goodies. Thank you to Chicago Recovering Communities Coalition, Northern Illinois Recovery Community Organization, and Faces and Voices of Recovery for hosting such a wonderful, impactful event!
The event boasted live music performances, insightful presentations, and encouraging speeches that filled the room with hope and joy and lifted everyone’s spirits. Not only was the hope felt, but dance breaks kept the energy up all day.
The Illinois Helpline would like to give a special thank you to every person who stopped by our table to chat, connect, and share your story. People willingly and openly shared their recovery experiences with us, whether a story of their own or that of a loved one. From hearing the inspiring recovery journeys of some attendees, it is evident that recovery is about vulnerability and resiliency. The stories we heard all emphasized gratitude for the loved ones and providers who demonstrated continuous support and encouragement throughout their recovery journey. Each person who visited us, whether a provider, person in recovery, or a loved one, showed great compassion and dedication to this work. Also, it was a pleasure to connect with our community partners, like our friends at JOLT, (pictured) who have been a part of our state-wide campaigns! We appreciate Rally for Recovery for bringing us together and demonstrating that unity and social connections power recovery!