The Nehemiah Project will host its inaugural “Recovery Fest,” which will feature an interactive recovery obstacle course designed to help the public better understand the barriers people encounter while rebuilding their lives, on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Check-in time is at 8 a.m. and the event will run from 9 a.m. to noon at Squirrel Ridge Park (1603 SW Williston Rd., Gainesville), according to a press release. Click here to register.
A growing movement across Florida is changing how communities respond to substance use disorder, and in Alachua County, the peer recovery movement has gained momentum through a summer of events focused on lived experience, research, remembrance, recovery and community action.
The Nehemiah Project, established in 2014 by two people working to maintain their own recovery, has spent the past several months working with local and statewide partners to highlight the role of peer recovery support in Alachua County.
In June, The Nehemiah Project marked its first full year serving Alachua County with a weeklong celebration focused on recovery and community. On July 31, the organization hosted Data to Dialogue, bringing community leaders together with statewide research on peer recovery support to discuss ways Alachua County can strengthen the role of people with lived experience within its systems of care.
The momentum continued in August, when The Nehemiah Project partnered with city and county leaders to recognize International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31 and September as Recovery Month.
The community also gathered for “Taking Strides to End Overdose,” walking 5,501 steps in remembrance of the 5,501 lives lost to overdose in Florida in 2024.
For Executive Director and U.S. Army veteran Melissa Rea, each activity represents one part of a larger strategy to address substance use disorder and support recovery.
“We are at war, but the enemy isn’t the person struggling with addiction,” said Rea in the press release. “It’s substance use disorder, overdose, stigma, isolation and the barriers that prevent people from getting well. We have to attack those problems strategically, collectively and offensively.”
Rea compares the strategy to a military structure, with Florida serving as the battalion and each county representing a company. Peers, treatment providers, health care professionals, law enforcement, government, faith communities, businesses and families may have different roles, she said, but share the same mission.
“People with lived experience aren’t simply recipients of services — we are part of the solution,” Rea said. “My husband and I aren’t exceptions. We’re examples of what can happen when people have enough recovery capital, opportunity and a community willing to walk beside them.”
The work will continue beyond Recovery Month with The Nehemiah Project’s second annual Day of Caring, which will bring organizations and volunteers together to serve community members and connect people with needed resources.
June brought celebration. July brought data and dialogue. August brought remembrance. September celebrates recovery. Next comes service.
Together, the efforts highlight a broader movement in Florida and the growing role Alachua County is being called to play in expanding peer recovery support and building stronger pathways to recovery.