Recovery Palooza: Stigmas not invited
The Transitional Living Center Recovery (TLCR), a healthcare agency supporting those recovering from mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction, hosted their 11th annual “Recovery Palooza” Saturday at Joe Henry Park to celebrate the month of May as mental health awareness month.
“We started with about five agencies when we first did this and it’s been growing and growing to where we’re at approximately 31 agencies strong,” said Berenice Ortiz, Health Care Coordinator at TLCR. “Recovery Palooza is for the families to get connected to these organizations. It is for the families to be aware of what resources are available in this community when it comes to mental health, homelessness recovery, drug and alcohol recovery, anything. We’re trying to break the stigma of mental health.”
Marching bands from Kofa High School, Cibola High School, and Yuma High School joined together to play the national anthem to commence the Recovery Palooza. Parents went from booth to booth picking up resource pamphlets and hygienic bags as their kids played everything from mini-golf to corn-hole. Free meals were handed out by Crossroads Mission.
Free bags of goldfish, the swimming-kind not the cheddar-kind, were handed out by HOPE Inc. “Did you tell your mama about that?” said one father. “I think I’ll name him… Sushi!” said his daughter.