DUBLIN, Ga. — According to the Georgia Council of Recovery, more than 800,000 people in Georgia are in long-term recovery.
A bus that is traveling through the state is making it its mission to help people who were once struggling with substance abuse, stay in recovery.
The Clinton Foundation's Overdose Response Network introduced Mobilize Recovery Across Georgia. A purple bus traveling through the Peach State to help bring resources and support people in their recovery journey.
"I am in recovery for myself. I have six and a half years. Free of any mind and mood-altering substances," Ashley Black said.
Black is the director of the RISEUP organization with the Community Service Board of Middle Georgia. A recovery advocacy support service. Black says happy to see the bus come to Dublin because it shows that support is out there.
In addition to traveling to Dublin, the bus made stops in Macon, Eastman, and Cochran.
Jeff Breedlove with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities traveled with Mobilize Recovery Across Georgia. He says the message they are sharing is simple.
"That recovery is real," Breedlove said.
Breedlove told 13WMAZ he is in recovery himself. He says they stopped in Valdosta after Hurricane Idalia to help provide additional help to people who may have been impacted by the storm.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, rehab admissions in Georgia for people over the age of 12 increased 11% between 2017 and 2019. For Breedlove, the bus represents hope, restoration, and love.
Local community resources like Dublin Police, Narcotics Anonymous, and Veterans Crisis Line came out to let people know they are there to help. Breedlove says they want to break down the stigma that there is no help for people with addiction.
"So places like RISE, are places where they're peer-run and that's very important, and peers can go there to sort of maintain recovery for the rest of their life," Breedlove said.
Black says showing people support in their recovery is how she gives someone hope. She says she wants to give the same support to others like those who supported her.
"I couldn't have done it without my support network and all the people surrounding me," Black said.