The Albuquerque Center for Hope and Recovery held its second annual Spring Into Wellness event last week to bring awareness to the resources available to people experiencing homelessness, substance abuse problems, mental health challenges or other forms of adversity.
“We’re just trying to get Albuquerque sober and really do some positive things to our community,” Johnny Armijo, who works at the center, told KOB.
Joanne Beatty, the center's program director for senior peer case management, said Spring Into Wellness highlights the crucial resources available to those who may not look for their services.
An organization is helping Albuquerque stay sober.
| Facebook /Albuquerque Center for Hope and Recovery
“We decided to do this because we are 100% pure drop-in center,” Beatty said. “We offer resources to our community that experiences homelessness or to the community who’s just returning as citizens. This is a great way to get everybody in one place to try to get that help.”
Armijo pointed out that everyone at the center has experienced the challenges that their clients and patients experience.
“Everybody on staff has had some type of lived experience, whether it’s substance use, mental health, incarceration, being returning citizens. We’ve been through the gamut of just about everything,” Armijo said. “We really know how to navigate and help individuals who are trying to get through that recovery process.”
The Albuquerque Center for Recovery and Hope is at 913 2nd St. NW. It also partners with the Westside Shelter and has a location in Tijeras. The center can be reached at 505-246-2247.
“In all honesty this is my sobriety as well,” Armijo said. “Being able to help individuals going down that same road I did really gives me something to fight for."