Nonprofit honors several who have made the journey from unhoused and addicted to sobriety
Six individuals — many of whom were formerly unhoused in Bellingham and Whatcom County — were honored Monday at the Lummi Indian Business Council for being successfully sober for more than one year.
Mission for Missy, a community organization known for supporting unhoused folks and spreading overdose awareness, planned the ceremony on Sept. 30 in honor of National Recovery Month.
“Now that they have been literally clean and sober for over one year is just a huge deal to me and I feel it’s so important for them to be recognized. That way other people can see their stories and pull strength from them because it is doable. We do recover,” said Mission for Missy founder Hanah Warthan.
Several of the honorees lived in encampments behind Walmart and Winco in Bellingham before becoming sober, Warthan said.
“I want these people to get the recognition they deserve and I want the community to know that the people in these encampments can heal,” Warthan told The Bellingham Herald.
Whatcom County has recorded 71 overdose-related deaths so far in 2024. Whatcom County Emergency Medical Services has responded to 989 dispatch calls for suspected overdoses in 2024. 574 of those overdoses — 58% — are suspected to be opioid-related.
Lummi Tribal member James Scott was honored for his accomplishments on Monday. He has been sober for 18 months but before that, he was unhoused and struggling with substance use.
“For the longest time, I thought I was alone. But in all reality, I had a family that wanted me to get clean and sober. They just had to keep me at a distance because I was taking advantage of them. I was at the worst of the worst — robbing, stealing from stores, sleeping on the street,” Scott told The Herald.
“The cool thing about now is the community is rallying around people that are in recovery. Ten years ago, people that were in addiction were kinda shunned it felt like — not because they were bad people but because nobody understood it,” Scott said.
One of the honorees, Janet Prince, lived in the encampment behind Walmart before becoming sober. She eventually moved into housing and was reunited with her son.
“I would give all glory to God. I have a really strong spiritual connection with my higher power and that’s the only thing that has continually helped me to grow, renew my mind, renew my heart, and my whole well-being. Of course, it helps to have my son back and get the support that I need from the community,” Prince told The Herald.
“I wake up and I see my son. I go to bed with my son so I’m thanking God. I’m grateful and I stay grateful on a daily,” Prince said. “The sky’s the limit.”
All of the honorees were given a certificate acknowledging more than one year of being clean and sober, along with a gift card to Fred Meyer.
This story was originally published October 2, 2024 at 8:12 AM.
