“Recovery Is Real in Georgia”: GA Recovers Bus Tour Stops in Dalton
DALTON, Ga. — The Georgia Council on Recovery brought its 75-city GA Recovers Bus Tour to Dalton on Monday, marking National Recovery Month with messages of hope, policy discussions, and a push for stronger community-based addiction recovery services.
Messages of Hope and Narcan Donation
The stop at Dalton City Hall invited attendees to sign the side of the GA Recovers bus with encouraging words. Local leaders joined in, including Mayor Annalee Sams, who thanked participants and accepted two Narcan overdose reversal kits from Kevin Tanner, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD). The donation supports compliance with state law requiring public buildings to stock Narcan for opioid emergencies.
Leaders Stress Value of Recovery
State Senator Chuck Payne, a former juvenile justice caseworker, shared the story of Chase Noah, a young man from Ringgold who battled addiction and died at age 22. Payne emphasized that addiction touches every family and must be treated as a public health issue.
“This young man was worth saving… everyone is worth saving,” Payne said. “Mental health is physical health, and drug addiction is a doorway to mental health issues that we need to help people through.”
Policy Meeting Highlights Recovery Gaps
The Dalton stop also served as a policy meeting for the DBHDD’s subcommittee on addictive disease. Brian Kite, RCO development manager with the Georgia Council for Recovery, urged lawmakers to support legislation formally recognizing recovery community organizations (RCOs), which help connect people to services such as housing, transportation, and peer support.
“RCOs don’t duplicate services — they find what’s missing and help fill that gap,” Kite explained. “They support multiple pathways to recovery, because there’s not just one way to get well.”
Voices From the Recovery Community
Shelly Roche, director of Unified in Recovery in Lafayette, shared her personal journey: “I realized I needed more than just one meeting a week. I needed a lifestyle change… a recovery community as support with events and features.”
Subcommittee chair Taylor Peyton closed the meeting by noting how much progress has been made: “Ten years ago, you couldn’t even say you were a person in recovery and keep your job. The changes we’ve made are immense.”
The GA Recovers Bus Tour will continue through September, celebrating recovery stories and advocating for policies to strengthen addiction services across Georgia.
Have you or your family been touched by recovery programs in your community? Share your story with us at SaludaStandard-Sentinel.com.
