CALDWELL, Idaho — September is National Suicide Prevention Month and National Recovery Month so a group of local organizations got together for Recovery Day in Caldwell.
In 2019, 266 Idahoans died because of addiction to opioids. The groups symbolized them at Indian Creek Plaza during a balloon release featuring one for every overdose victim.
"A big reason why we wanted to come out here because we saw that not too many people in the community know of the potential resources they can utilize," said Heyden Tenna of the Canyon Recovery Community Center.
CRCC, Moonlight Mountain Recovery, Ambitions of Idaho, and Serenity Wellness put together the community event to help people learn about these resources.
"This is just a good time to reach out to our community and let them know that we are still here for you, and we care," said Megan Segers of Ambitions of Idaho.
At the same time, Recovery Day brought the community together to let people struggling with mental health, depression, and addiction know that they are not alone.
"You know a lot of the crisis calls we get a lot of people won't even admit that it is them that have the problem," said Michael Kent of Moonlight Mountain Recovery. "We just let them know we are here for them every step of the way."
The Caldwell Police Department, Caldwell Fire, and correctional officers were on hand for a dunk tank, raising money to help people recover.
These organizations offer free services to help people, and a few of them were addicts themselves, so they can relate to people going through a tough time.
"Being able to extend a helping hand the way somebody has done for us means the whole entire world for us," said Tenna. "It's what we want to be doing for the rest of our lives."
The National Suicide Hotline is available 24/7. That number is 1-800-273-8255.
