Celebrating National Recovery Month with USARA

The non-profit will host two community events

September marks National Recovery Month, a nationwide observance to celebrate the gains made by those in recovery, and will be recognized in Moab with two community events. 

Utah-based non-profit USARA, which stands for Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness, has had a presence in Moab since 2015. This year on August 31, they hosted the third annual event at Rotary Park to observe Overdose Awareness Day—a day to honor and celebrate lives lost to substance use—and will also host a Recovery Day celebration on Saturday, September 2 at Swanny Park from 2 to 6 p.m. There will be resource booths, food, prizes, and games.

“USARA is focused on removing stigma from addiction,” said Lanette Denton, a recovery coach with USARA. “Moab has a lot of stigma around recovery, which is common in rural areas. The events centered around Recovery Month encourage our community to join the rest of the world to help find support for those who have lost, remember those ones we lost for who they were, not why they passed away.” 

Denton, along with Heidi Thompson, fellow USARA recovery coach, facilitates peer-to-peer support at USARA. They, including all employees who work for the non-profit, are in recovery themselves and have the life experience to support others. 

The Overdose Awareness Day event—which is held across the state—included training on how to use fentanyl testing strips and administer NARCAN, a nasal spray designed to rapidly reverse the effects of opioid overdose. Both are available to everyone in the community through USARA with no questions asked. The event also featured speakers from the Moab Regional Hospital’s Recovery Center and personal stories from people impacted by overdose. Speakers promoted person-first language, Denton and Thompson said, an example being replacing the word “addict” with “someone who struggles with addiction.” Wellness Collective Co-Founders and wellness practitioners, Breann Davis and Crystal Bunch, led trauma-informed yoga and meditation. The event ended with a candlelit vigil and moment of silence.

Denton and Thompson said both events are meant to let people know they aren’t alone and that support is right here in town. Along with partners like the Moab Regional Hospital and the Moab Valley Multicultural Society, they are able to highlight and share the work being done in the community to support recovery while also reducing the stigma around it. 

Saturday’s Recovery Day Celebration will celebrate and empower individuals in recovery, and recognize the essential support of family, friends, and community. There will be a barbeque dinner, live music, and games throughout the afternoon and into the evening. All are welcome to attend; the event is free. 

USARA offers in-person services each week, as well as online services every day of the week. With programs including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, SMART meetings (Self-Management and Recovery Training), and trauma-informed fitness and yoga classes, there is supportive programming for anyone who needs it. For more information, visit the local USARA website at https://www.myusara.com/moab/.