30 days of giving back day 3 Mesa Smart Recovery About a year and a half ago I got a DUI. Being a public figure I was very heavily scrutinized. I had legal proceedings and political challenges. People were actually spending money on attacking me for political gain. Aside from the public nature of this moment, I needed to take a good look inward at who I was and what I was doing. I needed to be strong for my wife and son and be a good example for the people around me. Changes needed to be made. This moment in my life revealed who my friends. Users were dropped, old friendships were strengthened and some great new friends were made. I had some pillars of the community reach out to me and share their experience. I would have never guessed. People of all ages and backgrounds began to reach out to me from all over asking about what I was doing and how I was coping with all this. They were sharing their experience and the repair it caused them. Many were asking for advice. I took this opportunity in my life and turned it into an opportunity to help others. I reached out to a few friends and we decided to start a SMART recovery night in West Mesa. The Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix was kind enough to let us use their community room. We quickly because facilitators according to SMARTs program. We planned a for Monday night. At first I wasn’t sure if anyone would show up, but they did, and they kept coming. This program is now over a year old now. The meetings are free. We have expanded to two nights thanks to an outstanding attendee who volunteered to help and take it to the next level. We serve 10-20 people at each meeting and our attendees report getting a lot of value out of it. Thank you Sadie Jane for your time and organizing efforts. Thanks to the original crew, Serah Blain, Chris Wojno and Katie Pates. Thanks to the Humanist Society for letting us use space. Thanks to SMART for curriculum support. Thanks to everyone who joins us. We meet every Monday night at 7pm at HSGP 627 w rio Salado parkway. Mesa. www.mesaSMARTrecovery.org We welcome you #smartrecovery #commUNITY #peoplehelpingpeople #30daysofgivingback #iheartmesa (at Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq9vZTghITx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=16knrdplrttqr