From broken to beautiful: Exhibit to feature artwork by those in addiction recovery

LIMA — When it comes to the continuing drug epidemic, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the numbers: 106,699 U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2021 according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 4,452 unintentional drug overdose deaths in Ohio in 2023 according to the Ohio Department of Health and approximately 1.2 million Ohio residents age 12 or older using illicit drugs in 2022 and almost 700,000 Ohio residents over age 12 seeking drug rehabilitation treatment every year, according to a report from White Light Behavioral Health.

Often devolving into simple numbers on a page or a screen, statistics do not offer insight into the lives of each of the people included in those numbers, chronicling their descent into addiction. From 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, the Lighthouse Peer Support Center is hosting an event that will offer attendees a glimpse into these struggles in a new way.

Housed in the former Lima Knights of Columbus building at 810 S. Cable Road, the support center, in collaboration with the Allen County Treatment Court and the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Allen, Auglaize and Hardin Counties, is hosting “Art at its Fullest,” an art show featuring works created by people participating in the drug court’s recovery program. While each art piece will be shown anonymously, the paintings will offer the public a chance to see how these artists express through their craft their journey to recovery.

For Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Reed, the county’s drug court, where those entering the criminal justice system due to substance abuse are directed to treatment rather than incarceration, is more than just another docket in the county’s court system.

“The treatment court is basically just geared toward accountability for treatment and making sure those individuals get their lives back on track and avoid the criminal justice system in the future,” he said.

Among the interventions in this program is emotional counseling and therapy through agencies like Lighthouse Behavioral Health Solutions and through the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board. For Chris Akers, who has been in the drug court program for about a year and is nearing the end of his process, art became a valuable outlet in dealing with the effects of his 36-year struggle with substance abuse and addiction.

“For me, personally, I’ve been an addict my whole life,” he said. “I’ve never experienced the tough love like I’ve experienced [in the drug court program], and the accountability added to it, and it all adds up.”

For Akers, along with being a mode of expression, art was also a way of keeping busy while channeling the energy that may have previously gone into obtaining that next drug high in a more productive direction, creating something of beauty in the process. Akers now leads the art class in his program, helping others in their efforts toward recovery.

“What makes this drug court stand out from any other system in the United States of America — and trust me when I say I’ve got experience in the United States — this system here has not only made me want to change, but it made me want to stay on that same path. Thank the Lord, I have not had any backslides, but I’ve not even thought about using drugs like I would have on a normal day. There are so many doors opening up from the positive environment that’s here, and all the paintings you’ll see are positive. When it comes to this expo, it’s going to be a positive atmosphere.”

While the event is aimed at humanizing the people going through the drug court treatment process in the eyes of the public and dispelling any stigmas that may still exist, even having this event in existence can be a source of strength and affirmation for the artists whose work will be displayed.

“The bottom line is at the end of the day, they made a mistake that brought them here,” probation officer Shari Parker said. “But that mistake doesn’t have to be what the rest of their life is. So if we can get them to make that turn of the page and get them to where they’re healthy in their mind, healthy in their body and ready to work and become a productive member of society, I tell them they get to be a big brother, to get one to help the next one to help the next one.”

Thursday’s event will feature food provided by Daryl & Daryl’s Pizza.