 Periodic Newsletter Volume 17 October 30, 2025  Hand-in-hand, we can work to remove stigma and provide needed support and guidance to our faith community members and their families who are suffering.Dear Savannah Faith Leaders and interested readers, You are receiving this e-newsletter because we want you to have it and have designed it for you. This is our seventeenth edition. We are the non-profit Interfaith Addiction & Recovery Coalition, based in Savannah and founded in January of 2019. We provide education and support for faith leaders and their laity on the subject of addiction and recovery. Our aim is to prepare you to offer the counsel that your faith community members need at this time when addiction in many forms continues to increase.. If you are not a faith leader, you are probably in the recovery help professions or you have asked to be included in this mailing. Welcome! IN THIS ISSUE:* A word from Shay at PEER SOLUTIONS* An often-admired jail – based recovery program in Chatham Co.* Cares Warmline: ANY time* An exerpt from Circle of Chairs* Cancers linked to alcohol* Ron Robinson shares his Celebrating Families! background* Cale Robert Hall’s first sermon (Doctoral studies assignment)* How to combat STIGMA in our faith communities* FREE mental health Webinars* Reproduceable Savannah recovery meeting lists* One success at a time: Inspiration to keep on * Cartoon Content Editors: Carol Pine & Ardra Hartz Editor and Layout / Design: Ardra Hartz Shay Walters and her husband Rich, both in recovery, created and operate PEER SOLUTIONS in the Parkersburg, WVA area. Their award-winning early-recovery work assists newly sober persons with outpatient therapy, preparing for the job market, finding jobs, finding housing, ongoing individual therapy, and foundational faith support groups, all utilizing peers, those who have a been down the recovery paths that the organization offers help with. Peer Supporters assist clients in identifiying goals, hopes, and dreams, and provide a roadmap to get there.  HERE IS A RECENT FACEBOOK POST BY SHAY alongside her 10-years clean and sober photo. “ I know what it’s like to carry around a trash bag full of clothes with nowhere to go. I know what’s it’s like for my family to lock the doors. I know what it’s like to fall asleep wherever I can, even if it isn’t safe. I know what it’s like to have burn holes in my clothes, and holes in my arms and feet. I know what it’s like to be facing 22 years in prison. I know what it’s like in prison. I know what it’s like to smoke crack, shoot heroin, and be a zombie on Xanax for weeks at a time. I know what it’s like to not see my son for months. I know what it’s like to lose custody. I know what it’s like to hate everyone that wanted to help me. I know what it’s like to hate myself. I know what it’s like to have peace. I know what it’s like to be sober. I know what it’s like to have hard work pay off. I know what it’s like to change. I know what it’s like to make a comeback. I know what it’s like to feel God. I know what it’s like to have a clean home. I know what it’s like to be a good mother. I know what it’s like to be kind. I know what it’s like to pray. I know what it’s like to love my family. I know what it’s like to help others. I know what it’s like for Grace to be poured out so heavy upon me there is not room enough to receive it. I’ll forever say it:I was a low bottom addict. If I can, you can. If God saw something in me, he sees something in you. It’s never too late to get help”. 💜PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PRINT AND USE THIS ON A BULLETIN INSERT OR IN THE COFFEE-AREA /BULLETIN BOARD. IT MAY REACH SOMEONE’S HEART.  Shay and Rich Walters October 2025 – Ten years clean and sober JAIL – BASED RECOVERYBy Eric China with Carol Pine   Eric China, Program Director at HDH Addiction Services Peri Kyriacos (LCSW, MAC), Veteran Facilitator and Counselor “We give each person a safe place to begin their healing journey, to be heard, and to know that they are worthy.” Peri Kyriacos (LCSW, MAC), Veteran Facilitator and Counselor These are the words of a professional who has witnessed the damage of addiction in countless lives. Peri Kyriakos serves on the Chatham County Jail staff that provides a highly successful 28-day Substance Abuse Program to male and female inmates. Eric China, the son of lifelong pastor, Tommy L. China Sr., manages this program for the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office. Several faith leaders have volunteered including Rabbi Robert Haas of Mickve Israel and Imam Ibrahim Abdul-Malik of the Masjid Jihad Mosque who serves as a Chaplain advisor. Here are the remarkable statistics: this program, in existence for 24 years and conceived by HDH Addiction Services of Savannah (signifying Hope, Dedication and Heart), has provided 200 addiction treatment classes for male inmates and 164 classes for female inmates. Among the participants, some inmates have been court-ordered to take the course; however, a clear majority who participate make the decision entirely on their own. “It has taken years to reach this level of voluntary participation,” China says. “We have been told by many former prison inmates that our program is more effective than anything they have ever seen.” “There are key reasons for this,” China says. Inmates who sign up for the 28-day Substance Abuse Program receive addiction treatment as well as important life skills to keep them on track, he says: “Our program covers the many facets of substance abuse with individual counseling and group therapy including the pharmacology of drugs, relapse prevention, and how to communicate effectively. At the same time, they receive a heavy dose of life skills including subjects like anger management and what makes for positive relationships. “The key is this,” China says. “People need both kinds of skills to achieve long-lasting recovery from addiction. We can get a person clean and sober, but if they don’t know how to live in a healthy way, they will probably go back to their drugs of choice.” China and his team have created what he calls “a therapeutic community” within the jail system that is committed to sustaining an environment where people can learn in a safe setting. “It took years to accomplish this. We keep the bad actors out. We tell them, ‘If you cannot respect the officers, our staff or yourself, maybe you need to try again at a later date when you’re ready to work on the changes you want to make.” Any participant can ask for a chaplain in their faith tradition to meet with them privately. Several faith leaders have stepped up to assist, China says, and more are needed to serve as valuable resources. You may contact Eric China directly: Ejchina@chathamcounty.org  Always remember that it is a long, dark winding journey to the light of recovery. FAITH COMMUNITIES: make a full-page or half-page copy of this article and put it in your narthex or message area!The CARES Warm Line is a peer-operated, non-emergency telephone and text support service for those in or seeking recovery from substance use disorders as well as individuals with mental health concerns. You may wish to share this toll free number with someone in your faith setting. Warm Line Peer Recovery Coaches are trained as Certified Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialists (CARES) and are individuals in long-term recovery from substance use disorders. Building on the peer’s strengths, abilities and resilience, peer recovery coaches advocate and celebrate all pathways of recovery while fostering a message of hope and honoring an individual’s personal journey. The CARES Warm Line number is 1-844-326-5400, and our peer recovery coaches are available to call or or text from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. EST, 365 days a year, including holidays. Also, in an attempt to help people stay connected, the GCSA has started hosting Virtual All Recovery meetings through the ZOOM platform. These meetings take place Sunday through Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. EST. Anyone seeking recovery support may access these meetings through most computers, tablets and cell phones. If someone is looking to join the Zoom meetings via laptop use: Virtual All Recovery Meetings Meeting ID: 695 949 293. Password: recovery. The CARES Warm Line is guided by the belief, value and principle that through many pathways of self-directed care, recovery is possible for everyone.Georgia Council for RecoveryOffice: (404) 523-3440 CARES Warm Line: 1-844-326-5400https://gasubstanceabuse.org/cares-warm-line/Click And See it ! This phrase, circle of chairs, may bring to mind a small group setting during which individual persons speak while others listen, indicative of group therapy, or an AA or Al-Anon meeting. Caroline Beidler has created a website with this phrase as a title. Circle of Chairs is a storytelling site where stories of hope and recovery can be shared online. “We provide a platform for individuals to share personal stories of addiction, mental health, or trauma recovery,” Caroline says. The mission is to “create a safe and welcoming place for individuals to share their addiction / recovery stories and to find connection / inspiration.” Individuals can submit, in writing, a sharing of part of their personal mental health journey and can read submissions of others who have shared theirs here. https://www.circleofchairs.com/ .  https://phelpshealth.org/news/featured-stories/7-sobering-facts-about-alcohols-link-cancer Alcohol can damage the DNA in your cells and prevent the body from repairing the cells, which can lead to cells growing out of control. The best way to reduce your risk of cancer is not to drink alcohol at all. Before you pour yourself a glass of wine or grab a beer out of the fridge, you may want to think twice. The more alcohol you drink, the higher your risk for cancer!Alcohol has been linked to the following types of cancer:BreastColon and rectumEsophagusLiver Mouth, throat and larynx (voice box)In addition, some studies show that drinking alcohol increases your risk for prostate cancer and consuming three or more alcoholic drinks per day raises your risk of stomach and pancreatic cancer. So, why does drinking alcohol increase your risk for cancer? Here’s seven sobering facts about alcohol and cancer: Once you consume alcohol, your body converts alcohol into a chemical called acetaldehyde. This chemical can damage the DNA inside your cells and prevents your body from repairing the cells. When the DNA becomes damaged, a cell can begin growing out of control and develop into a cancerous tumor. The amount of alcohol you drink over time – not the type of alcohol (beer, wine, hard liquor, etc.) – seems to be an important factor in raising your cancer risk. Ethanol is the type of alcohol found in beer, wine and liquor. Different types of alcohol contain different percentages of ethanol. Evidence suggests that ethanol is what increases your risk for developing cancer.Alcohol can raise estrogen levels in your body, increasing your risk of breast cancer.Alcohol can irritate the lining of your mouth, throat and esophagus. This irritation can lead to inflammation and cell damage, which can increase your cancer risk.Alcohol also can affect your body’s ability to absorb certain nutrients, like vitamins A, C, D, E and folate. Low folate levels may play a role in the risk of some cancers, such as breast and colorectal cancer. In addition, your genes can play a role. Some people may have genetic variations that affect how their bodies metabolize alcohol and repair damaged DNA. Too much alcohol can add extra calories to your diet, which can contribute to weight gain. Being overweight or obese also is known to increase the risks of several different types of cancer.When it comes to alcohol, the best way to reduce your cancer risk is not to drink at all, according to the ACS. ( American Cancer Society) LIQUOR LABELING TO CHANGE:U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently issued an advisory sharing how alcohol increases cancer risk, calling for a new health warning label on alcoholic beverages. The advisory addresses the growing body of evidence about alcohol’s harmful health impacts, including its direct link to cancer. According to the statement, alcohol is directly responsible for approximately 75,000 new cancer cases and nearly 19,000 cancer-related deaths annually in the United States. Alcohol consumption has been identified as a risk factor for at least seven types of cancer, including breast, liver, colon, and esophageal cancers. Cancer risk increases with the amount of alcohol consumed over a lifetime, and the report shares findings that even light to moderate drinking can contribute to cancer risk. Surgeon general’s warnings are designed not only to share clear information with the public about health risks, but also to spur action, including policy efforts. They often become turning points in the health behaviors of the country, such as the 1964 surgeon general’s report on smoking, which changed the public perception of cigarettes. Public health and cancer researchers have long been sounding the alarm about the public health impact of alcohol. “This recommendation is an essential step forward in raising awareness about the risks of alcohol consumption,” says Mary Beth Terry, PhD, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and associate director for cancer population science and community outreach at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC).RON ROBINSON is a retired Deputiy Sherriff and a Certified Law Enforcment Instructor. He began, 16 years ago, working with a Court Appointed rehab program designed to build within-family relationships in attempt to curb the return to addiction tendency for incarcerated persons. Here in his own words, is both a summary and an introduction to NACoA’s Celebrating Families!  The Celebrating Families Program (CF!) in Chatham County was initiated in January 2009. In 2008, Judge Patricia Stone started the Family Dependency Treatment Court Program to address the issues of substance use and addiction by the adults who had cases at the Juvenile Court. Completing Celebrating Families! is one of the vital milestones that all of the drug court participants must accomplish. Celebrating Families! was created by Mrs. Rosemary Ticsh and Mrs. Linda Sibley at the request of Juvenile Court Judge Leonard Edwards (now retired) in Santa Clara, CA. In, 2007 the curriculum was transferred to the National Association for Children of Addiction (NACOA) to facilitate distribution of the program more widely. CF! is currently running in 40 states, and there is both a Celebrando component for the Hispanic community and a Welbriety/Celebrating Families component for Native American communities. In 2021, I became one of the five national trainers for NACOA who train other group leaders to facilitate and administer Celebrating Families! across the country. We have started new programs in communities in several states; the Celebrating Families! program in Chatham County is used as a model of what a successful program should look like. My current team has been together since 2019; every team member is dedicated to ensuring that the parents and children receive the information and skills to build their family’s resiliency in recovery. Since 2009 we have had many successful graduates from the Celebrating Families! program. Due to court guidelines, we are precluded from sharing the names of any of our participants. However, I can share two stories. In the CF! curriculum there are 16 sessions that participants must complete. One of the sessions is on goal-setting: we help them to develop the skill of deciding on what they want to do with the rest of their life while in recovery. One young lady came to the drug court process with a bachelor’s degree. She graduated CF! and drug court as well as getting custody of her children back. Her goal was to continue her education and eventually start working with other people in recovery. She has since acquired a master’s degree and a PHD. She is now working with an agency managing families who have issues with dependency and addiction. Another young lady also completed the drug court and CF! programs. She is now working as a case manager for the agency that manages our Chatham County CF! participants. She recently shared with me the pictures of her two children who had been in my group when I was a facilitator. Both of the children are doing extremely well. Celebrating Families works! I am proud to be associated with the program and proud to be an agent of change for the children and families that we serve. Cale Robert Hall, Chaplain Resident at Trinity UMC in Savannah delivered his first sermon, as a part of his Doctoral studies at Emory Univeristy, on October 26, 2025. Follow this link to the video:  https://-4SMCFR.subspla.sh/552796pAs these post Sermon Questions suggest, his message related strongly to recovery topics:knowing ourselves honestly, God redeeming our “dark tracks”, and our willingness to talk to both Jesus and to others about our weaknesses and our pain.Post Sermon Discussion Questions:- When do you instinctively “hit skip” in life, what feeling are you dodging?- Which word from Psalm 139 do you resist most—search, know, test, or lead—and why?- What is avoidance costing you right now? What might courage return to you?- How do you tell the difference between rest and numbing in your life?- What “dark track” has God already begun to redeem in your story?- What truth—if spoken aloud—might make you feel ten pounds lighter?- What safe practice helps you face pain without being overwhelmed?- If Jesus rode shotgun this week, what thing would you name/discuss first?- What lie does shame tell you when the old song plays—and what’s a truerline?- How can we show up for you when your old song starts playing? STIGMA : HOW TO COMBAT IT IN FAITH COMMUNITIES: TRY ONE AT YOUR WORHIP LOCATION THIS MONTH !  FAITH LEADERS: PLEASE CONSIDER scheduling one homily, sermon, message this fall from the point of view of an addicted person or their family member: “I Need Help !” Or, as an alternative, ask one person you know, who is in recovery, to speak for 3-5 min on the anxiety of upcoming holiday stress. There are people sitting in pews or chairs who hunger for such reinforcement, but they likely won’t say so .  Sanctuary of the First African Baptist Church, Savannah, GA SAMHSA:Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Admininstration Numerous FREE webinars here: Overcoming STIGMA and ending discrimination with regard to substance abusehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuotCdJF2qc Why addiction is a disease and how that is important:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rlb7cjHyJS4 SAMHSA’s You-Tube Channelhttps://www.youtube.com/user/SAMHSAONE SUCCESS AT A TIME / ONE LIFE AT A TIMEA new column for our e-newsletterJANIS ELLINGTON: Director of Event Strategies,Summit Behavioral Health Care “ I had a female client years ago who struggled greatly with cocaine addiction. She was a survivor of the 911 attacks on the World Trade Centers, and the trauma of that day was crippling for her emotionally. She went through several treatment facilities and countless hours of therapy in the few years following the 911 attacks. I had the honor of working with her in a sober living program. She committed herself to the sober living environment and was able to put together the a solid foundation for her life of recovery. All total, I think she was in the sober living around 14 months. She was able to work through many of the emotional roadblocks that kept her in a perpetual relapse cycle and was able to rebuild her family relationships. Fast forward to current day: she has almost 20 years of sobriety. She has a successful career, she’s married with two kids and living her best life. I receive messages from her each year on her sobriety date letting me know she is grateful for the life Recovery has given her.”FAITH LEADERS: WE HAVE SOMETHING FOR YOUR WORSHIPPERS! CLICK ONE OR MORE LINKS FOR A REPRODUCEABLE COMPLETE LIST OF ALL RECOVERY SUPPORT GROUPS IN SAVANNAH: AA, AL-ANON, NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS, AND NON-12-STEP HELP GROUPS https://savannahaa.com/meetings/ https://www.savannah-al-anon.org/area-meetings-copy2 https://www.narcotics.com/na-meetings/georgia/savannah/ https://meetings.smartrecovery.org/meetings/https://recoverydharma.org/meetings/rd-savannah-unity-of-savannah-on-2320-sunset-blvd-savannah-ga-31404https://buddhistrecovery.org/recover/online-meetings/  SOURCE: Cartoonstock.comWE SEEK YOUR INPUT A topic I’d like to hear more about in the IARC Newsletter is: ___________________________________________________________ Send your response to: ardra.kh@gmail.com or savannahiarc@gmail.com If you wish to make a donation, click HERE: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=E7TQYZRG8PA2J or please mail a check to the Interfaith Addiction and Recovery Coalition in care of Janis Ellington 134 Belfast Pines Drive Richmond Hill, Georgia 31324 THANK YOU Copyright 2025 Interfaith Addiction and Recovery Coalition, All rights reserved. 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