Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia speaks about the importance of citizens stepping up in support for one another to help address issues of addiction within the community.
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis
HOLYOKE — Dwight Street in downtown Holyoke was briefly occupied with a group from Hope for Holyoke on Friday, Sept. 20 as they marched from Heritage State Park, to Veterans Memorial Park, and back to City Hall as part of their annual “Recovery Day” celebration.
Starting at noon, Hope for Holyoke participants dressed in purple began a march and chant signaling the theme of their observance, “Together We Are Strong.”
Marching and chanting on their love for the city and its citizens in recovery, the group echoed down the streets of downtown in an expression of support for annual Recovery Day.
Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia said the celebration of Recovery Day is a reminder of Holyoke’s compassion for its residents and its efforts of supporting one another as neighbors.
“I know my family growing up benefited from Holyoke’s compassion. We’re an immigrant and migrant city, we’re a place of hope and opportunity for first, second, third, fourth, fifth and beyond chances until folks figure it out,” Garcia said. “Because the fact of the reality is the struggle is real for a lot of individuals depending on what your background and circumstances are, and today we’re talking about issues that involve addiction.”
Garcia said because of the city’s compassion, he often has to remind citizens it does bring a level of quality-of-life challenges that the community has to come together on to address.
“We like to point fingers and we like to argue and fight and blame on who is causing the quality of life problems in our community, and the only folks we can blame is ourselves when we don’t work together as neighbors and take care of each other, no matter what the circumstances are, because that’s what being a collective is about, that’s what being a community is about,” Garcia said. “So I’m happy to stand here with my brothers and sisters and neighbors in letting folks know the city of Holyoke, we care and recognize the issues around addiction.”
Garcia added every citizen has a personal responsibility to each other as neighbors to work together to navigate these issues. He then read a proclamation declaring the day as Recovery Day in Holyoke.
At-Large Councilor Israel Rivera was in attendance for support of the day and spoke during the ceremony as well sharing that for him and many other Holyokers, addiction has impacted them in many ways.
“I lost my father in 2006 to alcohol and my whole life growing up I was very familiar with addiction and what it looks like, not only in my house and my own family but within the neighborhood and growing up in the Flats neighborhood, seeing other peoples families and watching them,” Rivera said. “So recovery for me has always been part of my life and it’s important for me that people see that recovery is a regular, normal thing, not something that’s different or other, because that is where the stigma comes from.”
Rivera invited a close friend of his, Christopher Deleon who shared his story of overcoming addiction to now being in recovery. Deleon credited Hope for Holyoke for their inspiration and help in him becoming sober and he has been able to get back to work and living a clean lifestyle.
“Most importantly to me is my recovery and the only way I can keep that recovery is by giving it back to the next person, telling them how I did it, what’s my strategy, and staying in the community and the environment,” said Deleon.
The ceremony ended with a flag raising honoring Recovery Day and was followed by an event set up at Veterans Memorial Park where resource tables, music and additional guest speakers that were available for attendees during the rest of the afternoon.
