On March 20th, in the grand ballroom of the Denver Athletic Club, FOH celebrated with our friends and supporters in the Denver community the successes of the Haven women. Kim Christiansen of 9News was the emcee for this memorable event in which we honored Janet Elway and the YMCA of Metro Denver for their work to send underserved kids to summer camp. Last summer, the Janet’s Camp fundraiser enabled 25 Haven or Peer One client’s children to attend. Nautika, age 8, enjoyed summer camp so much that she has been asking to go again this year!
Keynote speaker, Adam Brickner of the Phoenix Center in North Carolina, gave us an inspiring and contemporary view of substance addiction, it causes, and its cure.
The annual gala raises money to fund Treatment Scholarships for the clients who are the most deserving. When they come to the Haven, they arrive with no clothes, no money, no confidence, and little hope. The Haven provides life changing opportunities for them to become the women they were always meant to be; it takes hard work. They have to learn to deal with the repercussions of their criminal past, the guilt associated with the past, how to address it all and forgive themselves. FOH recognizes the barriers these women face. “We want to increase their chances of staying in recovery and being there for their children by breaking down the hardest barrier to relapse- money” says Bill Winn, President and Founder of Friends of the Haven. Treatment Scholarships allow well deserving women to graduate from the Haven debt free. In just 3 years, FOH, with funds from the Gala, has provided $147,000 in Treatment Scholarships to 58 women.
We look forward to celebrating more success stories at the 2015 Gala! We hope you can and will join us. The only sustainable path to recovery is support from our community. Together we help women and families stay together.