Flint, MI—Serenity House Communities, a nonprofit addiction recovery organization, is hosting its annual “Flint Recovery Arts & Music Show” event during downtown Flint’s Second Friday Artwalk.
The free show, sponsored by the Genesee Health System, will be held at Cafė Rhema (432 S. Saginaw Street) March 11 from 7 – 9 p.m. and feature acoustic sets by musicians Mike Roland, Kent Crawley, and Rachel Acedo.
“In terms of the event itself, what we’re trying to do is just create a place of hope and healing,” said Serenity House Founding Director Tara Moreno-Wallen, whose photography will also be exhibited during the show. “Right now we have about 23 million people who are in long term recovery. It’s an estimation because of the anonymous (nature of recovery)—like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous—and the stigma.”
Moreno-Wallen said she hopes the event will foster conversations around addiction and recovery “without judgment or fear.”
“We need to get creative if we are going to solve this growing problem of addiction and overdose,” she wrote in a press release. “The only way we can really get to the root of the problem is by coming together.”
According to the same release, an estimated 176 people are dying per day in the United States from overdose, and the growing opioid/addiction crisis is impacting families in communities across Genesee County.
“If we keep these things in the dark they just grow and fester,” Moreno-Wallen said. “But when we bring them into the light, and we talk about them in a non-judgmental way, people can heal.”
Alongside photography and music, the event will also feature a 50/50 raffle, a silent auction, and drip coffee for the first 50 people in attendance.
“Flint Recovery Arts & Music Show” is free, but registration is requested through the event’s ticketing website.