Kenai walks and rolls for recovery

Kenai walks and rolls for recovery

As September gave up her final day of 2016, Change 4 Kenai supporters took advantage of the perfect autumn afternoon to increase community awareness of addiction and recovery with a march down Binkley Street to Soldotna Creek Park. Shari Conner of Change 4 Kenai explained, “We are doing a recovery walk to take a stand against addiction. Through our website on line people could sign up and have teams. We had a couple of teams that were from Heritage Place and they did the Rolling for Recovery part so we were ‘Walking and Rolling for Recovery.” About 145 total participants made their way from Serenity House headquarters on Binkley St. down to Soldotna Creek Park. According to Conner the purpose was to raise funds for Change 4 Kenai, “About two years ago we did an assessment of our community and found that addiction was a big problem. Specifically IV heroin use, so we are working to create programs that will help fight that,” she told the Dispatch.

The “Roll for Recovery” Team from Heritage Place (HP) consisted of 15 residents in wheelchairs, 15 pushers, a walker and motorized scooter according to Aud Walaszek, HP Activities Coordinator, “All were in their Dignity Awareness Mission resident made t-shirts and joined the march for the Serenity House ‘Stand Against Addiction’ walk. For the fundraiser portion the HP Residents Council donated $200 and other team members $150 totaling $350 contributed. The residents selected this cause as one of our community outreach programs with our Dignity Awareness mission in mind, to recognize the dignity in those battling addiction,” she said.

Many of the participants included their kids and pets in the walk as did Dr. Kristie Sellers, director of behavioral health at Central Peninsula Hospital, “We are actually the lead grantee agency for Changer 4 Kenai and we received the grant funds that allowed the coalition to exist and have been the inspiration for the project. We brought our community together and reached out to those interested in the topic to discuss how we could really make change for our community with regard to addiction abuse. The main thing we wanted to accomplish today was to let the community know that more people live in recovery from addiction than live in active addiction. Some estimates are that as many as seven and eight times as many people live in recovery from addition than live in active addiction. We tend to see the impact as active addiction in our community, broken laws, broken lives but we rarely get to see rebuilt lives and that is what we wanted to celebrate today.” Change 4 Kenai has both a website and Facebook page for anyone wanting more information. Future events are being scheduled, “Our goal is to make it easier for someone in our community to get out of the world of addiction than it is to get into it,” said Dr. Sellers.

Kenai walks and rolls for recovery

More in News

A young girl digs for razor clams at the Ninilchik Beach in Ninilchik, Alaska, on Saturday, July 1, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
East Cook Inlet clamming to remain closed for 2025

The causes of these conditions remain unknown but likely include effects from habitat changes and predation, officials said.

Graduates process into the 55th Annual Kenai Peninsula College Commencement Ceremony, held at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, May 8, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘The kinds of leaders Alaska and the world needs’

KPC graduates congratulated as they head into the next chapter of their lives.

Homer Electric Association General Manager Brad Janorschke speaks at the utility’s annual meeting of the members at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
HEA manager talks natural gas, hazard trees, rates at annual meeting

Natural gas remains the “backbone” of the utility’s energy production.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Dunleavy orders freeze on state employee hiring, travel and new regulations due to fiscal crunch

Exemptions allowed for certain occupations and “mission-critical” purposes.

Students stock rainbow trout into Johnson Lake during Salmon Celebration, hosted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game near Kasilof, Alaska, on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Celebrating the cycle of life

The annual Kenai Peninsula Salmon Celebration caps off the Salmon in the Classroom program.

State of Alaska Department of Law logo. Photo courtesy of the State of Alaska Department of Law
Homer woman sentenced for 2020 murder

Sarah Dayan was convicted in December for the murder of Keith Huss.

Borough Mayor Peter Micciche speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough mayor proposes mill rate decrease in $180M draft budget

The budget also follows his “balanced budget philosophy” of spending increases at or below around 2.5% year-over-year.

Kenaitze Indian Tribe chemical dependency councilor Jamie Ball performs during a candlelight vigil marking National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls at the Raven Plaza, Ggugguyni T’uh, in front of the Dena’ina Wellness Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, May 5, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Vigil recognizes missing and murdered Indigenous women on national awareness day

Alaska Native women are overrepresented in the populations of domestic violence and rape victims in the state.

Most Read