May 15, 2022 10 min read

MJ – we started, original process started a year, year and a half before we opened, in 2017, we were ready to open our doors up, this was the former G.C. Murphy, wanted to make it look very nice, people who come into recovery don’t want to come into dark dreary place, wanted to bring them into a nice bright place. as we processed through it all, it has been here and it is now a staple I think for the community, I think we have proven to people that we are here for them, were all volunteers, so we want to be here, its a place where people can come and get what they need, meet people where they are, giving them more avenues, more paths to getting recovered, we want to offer those, offer 100 Hours a month of recovery meetings, trainings, coaching, whatever is their path we want to meet them there and help them with their journey.

I met Karen from Greene County, met her one day, KAREN was looking for volunteer work after retiring, we were led to each other. We met for dinner, and for 2 years Karen became board president, we were lucky to have that spot open, she fit above and beyond all of that.

The biggest thing is our ability now to offer more avenues. back then we were more NA/AA club house, now we’ve actually gotten to point where we’re offering a lot more than just meetings, offer recovery, yoga, life coaching, the ability to be there for them, we’re advocates. Legal advocates. 

PARDONS PROGRAM is the advocacy part. 

We are now recovery resources, support and advocacy, advocate at state, local and individual level. 

Women in my group are having trouble with CYS, so they can hear what women who lost a child and now the grandparents are raising children, the moms who are grandmoms are stepping up. They never dreamed they’d wake up one morning and be caretakers for their grandkids and have to deal with system and school system.

WE PLAN ON BEING HERE FOR YEARS TO COME – MJ Gardner not necessarily in this exact location. We’re trying to expand as well.

Cornerstone giving COVID shots to people in recovery. Phil got one today. Thye’re a pop up clinic, they just come when there are meetings here, did 5 shots for a population that’s anti. But when it’s offered to them right then and there, people will get the shots.

PEOPLE in recovery like to have things in close area , travel is a barrier, this place is right in the middle of everything as far as mental health and recovery houses, we want to offer as much as we can offer for these people , they get themselves here. For them, these people consider recovery very important. As a group of volunteers, we try to help in every way we can.

MJ GARDNER – a long the way, I lost a lot of friends to addiction, had this place been here when they were going through their issues, I believe they would be here so I don’t want to have somebody say that Washington doesn’t have anything for anybody, we have this place here now, that led me and a few others to start the process of this and then Karen and everybody that’s here now, carrying on to where we need to get to and want to get to is establishing and getting people further out now. 

(the foundation of this place is people who have been impacted by drugs and alcohol)

family members , what we see every day is it isn’t only an individual problem, it’s a family problem.

PHIL – I believe it’s helping me, even though my loved ones are gone, I sit in there, I’m learning why, I’m learning what they went through, I believe my sister would be alive today my sister and nephew, I firmly believe this place helps

MJ – everything is close, the ability to get places, people in recovery community aren’t able to have cars, everything is in walking distance.  MJ  did you see the happiness and supportiveness.

CROSS – PHIL. my daughter gives crosses, I carry them with me, the other day, I watched a woman struggling for a couple weeks, could tell by listening, I went up to Zoe and said can you give this to her, she gave it to the lady, I gave a couple, it’s funny, they’re $50 a bag, $1 a cross, then this is the story … you texted me and told me how grateful she was, I got a sign to order crosses, I give them out. 

Did 7 COVID booster shops. Will have MOBILE VAN MAY 11.

Got a sign from GOD. We all see signs – Zoe who runs the meeting, she stands here and greets everybody, we sit here and greet people, we’re walking in. 

She is one of our Pathstone Employees, got to be 55 years old, they provide $7.25 an hour, provide those 55 and older can work up to 25 hours a week, they have places that are non-profits. Teresa Woods is one of those pathways employees, she did volunteer work. 

JESSE LLOYD – might have done something for mission, he’s our tech volunteer. These are two of the three cornerstones to my recovery. And my home group. I came here basically for recovery, I’m from VA, moved  to Lancaster to feed my addiction for a while longer, ended up in Washington for recovery, came here for meetings, found out they needed someone to handle computer stuff, I volunteered right away, been involved off and on for 3 years since then, covid turned tides. 

It keeps me around recovery almost every day, I’m interacting with people in recovery, several times people have come down the ramp have been struggling with something and just by talking with me I hep them come to the solution because I’m there, I’ve either been there or going there, right where they’ve been. Before my relapse I had 20 years, went out for 5 years, and have been back for about 4 years, I’ve been involved with this place almost from the day I hit this town.

“He’s my man, she’s my girl,” MJ Gardner said. She makes sure the place is running smoothly with supplies, he makes sure the place is running smoothly with the tech stuff.

TERESA I’m in recovery, I’ll have 6 years in July . I wanted to volunteer, I’ve been here for a while, wanted to do it. I started out helping out when place started, and I kept being here. I feel like I give back and it helps me too, it helps me focus on my recovery, cause I give back and I stay focused, and I’m doing something too and it gives me a chance to help, I might be able to help somebody and somebody might be able to help me too. plus I like being around recovery people, there’s a meeting, just talking, there’s a meeting right there so I get a meeting out of the deal too.

“I help out with the meetings too. TERESA.

that’s what I hire 

We stared, the

KAREN: On the t-shirt we added and it’s so important, NO JUDGMENT ZONE, that’s so important because we want people to feel like they can come in here and nobody’s going to judge them no matter what, if they used the night before, we’re here to help. so we had to .. 

Harmony Cafe opened up 5 months before this. It will be 6 years for them . We’re turning 5 in September. We are probably going to have a banquet for fifth anniversary, Marcus Piatt on board so it will be at at Hilton Garden inn. one third of our budget comes from meeting income, NA and AA, and their traditions, collections, they pay rent, we fundraise and find other ways, yoga, other people coming here. Pass a basket.

We’re no judgment zone, we offer multiple paths to recovery because everybody’s an individual. And  Recovery, reproduces, support and Advocacy. we see that advocacy is a really important thing, we see a lot of times people in recovery feel like they have no say-so, like they’ve burned bridges, we want to be there to support them, we want them to know they are important like Phil says, we want them to feel that. 

TERESEA – there are people who want to give up, they have no hope, nobody that understands them and so sometimes I talk to them and say you don’t have to feel like that , some people don’t want to open up or reach out because theyre afraid they’l get their feelings hurt or get rejected, nobody wants to hear them. I’m like don’t feel like that, there are people out there who do want to hear you, do want to help you.

MJ – your message might help somebody down the road, your message, you may be saying something in a meeting that clicks with somebody and you don’t know, but you may have saved their life. And that goes a long way. We just want to make sure people know to come here to get support, the support is really big. 

PHIL -mone of the biggest thing that I saw that helped was it became very numb to lose a best friend to overdose, because there were so many of them and they’d walk away, that meant to me that their lives didn’t matter, and that’s I come in and go its got to stop, it’s got to go back to every person counts, every person that dies matters, 

TERESEA – people will come up and talk to Phil afterwards, somebody, people come up and talk to him.

PHIL – happened when my nephew died. 

MJ – you become desensitized. 

TERESA – you shut down. 

MJ- when fentanyl od crisis began, it wa s a big deal when a person died, now it’s like we lost another one. I feel like people are getting desensitized .

TERESA – 724-221-2396

PHIL worked at Dunkin’ hiring. Can’t let off hook, got to let hthem know consequences. Hiring the, that’s what I developed. Big success stories, 17-year-old went through lighthouse, went through 3/4 house, when I left she was shift manager, next in line for asst. mgr, has 2 babies, own business as photogpraher. Part of this is helping people get their pardon papers in , it holds them back from the littlest things. Something minor offense was 10 years on his record, these pardons are important. 

I know Carol DeAngleo, we got to be best friends, WENT THROUGH WHAT with me. I ran Garfields she ran something. .. IMPACT COACHING Class . 

VOLUNTEER – phil. vetting process…..

Rhonda Phillips DiBello – I started it, we needed a group for mother’s and Gms who lost kids, we have here at the salon, when my daughter died I called mj, he stepped in and was sort of a mentor, he they pulled me through her loss for sure, grandson started the lemonade stand, he’s done it every year since she passed, its a way for him to deal. 

I think they’re very open minded , they’re very resources the recrousces they have are phenomenal, they’ll lead you in the right direction for any kind of addition or any kind of loss, supportive of what we do, they, I’ve leaned on them so heavily I don’t know where I would have turned. It’s growing so fast, all the non profits involved with that are all coming on board. 

Mothers who Lost loved ones, first Monday of every month. In the evening at 6 p.m.

They’re gettin read y to start program for kids who have lost parents, that’s one of the ones, 

Really trying to do with the teenagers.