Ravenswood Hope looking to reach more families across Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A group aimed at supporting people on the road to recovery is hoping to get more people on board with the efforts.
Kenny Mcree said he could no longer sit back and watch as drugs continued to take over his neighborhood of Ravenswood.
“When addiction came into my home and I didn’t understand it, I rebuked it and didn’t want any part of it,” he said. “When I got educated and started to understand it more that’s when I decided I needed to be a part of this, be the adhesive that brings the neighborhood together.”
He started a group called Ravenswood Hope to support families and children of addicts, and to educate them about drug addiction.
“What I found when you go into a home, addiction is in the house,” he said. “Everyone in the house is sick, including the people that are not addicts so it needs to start with the family.”
A group of people met behind closed doors at Glendale Christian Church Thursday night as part of the 12 Steps to Life program. The free weekly program is put together by Ravenswood Hope.
“It’s not exclusive to the neighborhoods especially when it comes to support,” said Mcree. “I want anybody that needs support to come through here.”
Mcree has lived in the Ravenswood neighborhood for about 30 years. He said he has seen the impact of drugs spanning across generations in the area.
“I mean we’re not talking just heroin; heroin just happens to be the showstopper. It happens to be the ones that’s killing kids,” he said. “We’ve always had alcohol, cocaine, crack, marijuana all that stuff running rampant through here.”
And that generation includes his daughter Jennifer, who’s now on her road to recovery.
“I started off on pain pills and then I gradually moved to heroin and it took over my life,” she said. “My kids got taken from me.”
Jennifer is actively part of Ravenswood Hope. She’s attending meetings and helping others to find themselves again.
“Like every day just gets a little bit more clearer, and you got to fight for your life because it’s worth living,” she said.
But Jennifer said she wouldn’t be where she’s at today had it not been for her family. She’s now hoping this support group can help save another life.
“They just opened up my eyes you know, and I found a little bit of my heart and my soul again,” she said. “Because you know drugs take over you, they take over the person you are, they take over your morals, your values, everything. I found a little bit of the person I used to be and I fought for her back and I’m still getting her back day by day.
Members are meeting on May 10 at Glendale Christian Church to begin the process of voting for board members. The meeting is scheduled to start at 6:45 p.m.
Click here to follow the group on Facebook.
Click here for a schedule of the free programs.