A Day for Meta House 2018: Recap
This year’s A Day for Meta House events attracted over 1,000 community members and raised over $238,000 in support of the therapeutic services that help families at Meta House thrive. Thank you to everyone who attended, who donated, who volunteered and who helped spread the word. Without you, the live-saving work happening across our three treatment settings simply couldn’t continue.
This year, we celebrated Women of Strength… women who have battled back from the depths of their disease to establish a life in recovery from a substance use disorder. In order to acknowledge the strength of anyone’s story, though, we first have to understand their journey. This year, we heard from Naomi and her support network in a documentary-style film (watch it here). We gained valuable insight into what treatment is really like at Meta House from a panel of our staff. Meta House’s Program Managers, the Director of Child and Family Services, a Peer Specialist and a Case Manager detailed how their efforts help us achieve our mission to strengthen women and heal families. The keynote was delivered by Kamisha, an absolute powerhouse of a woman and a graduate of our program.
Captured below are some of our favorite quotes from this year’s events.
• “For women who have been pushed into the shadows for so long, shamed for a disease and life circumstances often completely beyond their control, to be celebrated is to be seen… and every person deserves the dignity of being seen.” –Valerie P. Vidal, Meta House President and CEO
• “I want to know what it is that’s taking you away from your family. What is that feeling that you get that’s so powerful that we didn’t matter? …at that moment, he taught me how to use heroin.” –Naomi
• “You were able to battle something that not many people even live through… let alone become the parent they were supposed to be.” –Veronica, on her sister Naomi’s strength in recovery
• “If you don’t know Naomi as a woman of strength, you don’t know Naomi.” –Katie Martin, Meta House Therapist
• “Meta House saved her life. They didn’t just save my daughter, they saved my grandchildren.” –Jimmy, Naomi’s father
• “Thankfully at Meta House, we have the luxury of saying – you need treatment? Bring your kids with you.” –Julie Reichert, Meta House Residential Program Manager
• “I consider myself a systems navigator – I help women work through really confusing, complex systems so they’re empowered to heal and become self-sufficient.” –Carolyn Martin, Meta House Case Manager
• “We are [a woman’s] champion while she heals.” –Eileen Sperl, Meta House Director of Child and Family Services
• “You have to change your people, places and things. Let’s go meet some people in recovery and try out some new hobbies.” –Nicole Lindemann, sharing her unique lived experience in recovery as a Peer Specialist at Meta House
• “Sometimes the hardest choice is to stay in treatment and face what’s ahead.” –Julie Reichert, Meta House Residential Program Manager
• “I asked my mom (who was in active addiction) – ‘why can’t you just stop?’ I didn’t understand why my mom was making the choices she was making… I learned later on – she couldn’t stop because she didn’t know how.” –Kamisha, Meta House graduate
• “Today, I’m not a problem. I’m a problem solver. I’m my own Olivia Pope.” -Kamisha
• “Naomi and Kamisha, thank you for being determined. Thank you for being conquerors. I have two new sheroes.” –Denise Thomas of The Effective Communication Coach, making the appeal at ADFMH – West
• “The time is now for us to understand the power within us.” –Thelma Sias, on our individual ability to make a difference in the lives of those in our community facing adversity
• “If we can rally behind the Milwaukee Bucks, we can rally behind the women at Meta House.” –Thelma Sias, making the appeal at the lunch session of ADFMH.
Thank you, friends, for helping to make these success stories possible! Your support helps families at Meta House heal. We look forward to seeing you next year for A Day for Meta House on Friday, May 3!