Soma Sala Circle
By Lyndsey Sorah, Citizen Tribune Staff Writer
The General Federation of Women’s Clubs Somo Sala Circle is hosting its annual chili luncheon Friday, Jan. 26 in the First Presbyterian Church fellowship hall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door for $8 and include a bowl of chili, toppings, crackers or chips, beverage and a dessert. Vendors will also be on site selling art, crafts and boutique items.
This year’s proceeds will benefit Abundant Hope Ministries, formerly Center of Hope.
Abundant Hope is a local ministry, which offers a year-long, Christ-centered, residential addiction recovery program for women, consisting of individual and group counseling, recovery and life skill classes and work therapy.
Corey Leatherman, pastor of Abundant Hope, said the free program provides room and board in addition to the recovery program. It is funded by the donations of others and its thrift store sales.
Audrey Nunes, a graduate of the program, said she had lived with addiction for over 10 years before finding Abundant Hope and seeing her life changed. She had started using drugs in middle school and said she was completely in the grips of addiction by the time she was a sophomore in high school.
Nunes said as her addiction persisted into her adulthood, she became more desperate and felt more trapped. She lost custody of her son and was homeless.
“I thought that was it for me, and that an addict was all I would ever be,” she said. “I hated myself and what I was doing, but I didn’t know how to stop.”
After trying a 28-day program, then turning back to drugs, Nunes called a number she had been given for a faith-based program in Morristown — Abundant Hope.
“The people in the program showed me real love and taught me how to live without addiction and chain,” she said.
She has been clean for five years and has custody of her son again. Now, she works for Abundant Hope helping women who are facing the same trials she did.
“I learned that I don’t have to struggle with addiction for the rest of my life,” she said. “I don’t think about it anymore. It’s not a part of who I am.”
Leatherman said he hopes to see a men’s program opened in the future, and has been working toward a practical budget program for students to practice keeping up with their own money. They would be able to use funds to pay off court fees or get their licenses back—things that will benefit them when they finish the program.
“Our goal and our desire in this is that everyone would graduate with their license back and at least starting the climb,” he said. “We see awesome growth from the program, but we don’t want them graduating from the program and having to go back to the same thing they came from.”