This isn't just another fundraising campaign. This is a donation to help those in recovery, to help those maintain a sober life style. As my friend Mason says, "The opposite of addiction is connection". At The Phoenix we strive to make it a community through movement, through art, through music, through the people. Everyone has a different story that brought them to The Phoenix and here is mine...
I am six years and three months sober but who's counting... well, we are. Those in recovery do. Everyday. I got sober because seven years ago I was battling major depression and using alcohol to cope with the heavy feelings. It wasn't an everyday thing, I never hit a rock bottom but I also wasn't using alcohol in a healthy way (is there a health way to use alcohol?). At the same time, I found out that my grandfather was an alcoholic and passed away from it. Well, that defiantly explain some nights in college where I absolutely had to have an alcoholic drink in my hand and have it going down my throat. Things just clicked in place when I found that out.
So I stopped drinking. I went preventative. I knew if I continued drinking, I would hit a rock bottom. And why drink a depressant when I was already depressed enough? Two years into my sobriety, I moved to Denver and quickly found The Phoenix, coincidentally in September which is National Recovery Month. I've never left. Four years in, I have found friends for life, improved my fitness, competed in competitions, lifted weights I dreamed of at one point, and started coaching Crossfit.
The Phoenix has given me a life, a purpose, a community who understands my sobriety. It has become my safe place. The Phoenix has seen me on my best days, my good days, my bad days and my worst days. It has become another home over the years.
-Breanne
