FAIRMONT – With September being National Recovery Month, local experts are raising awareness on the dangers of addiction and the recovery that is possible.

Bravo Zulu House in northern Martin County is a new sober living house for veterans struggling with both PTSD and addiction. Servant Leader Tim Murray said in treating veterans with addiction problems, PTSD is a major factor.

“Lack of sobriety is the number one barrier to effectively treating PTSD,” he said. “Very simply put, if I don’t get sober, I’m not going to be able to deal with my PTSD. We need to get these guys sober first and then immediately have them move into a sober living environment. Recovery becomes the platform upon which somebody can build their lives.”

Recovery In Motion works with individuals who have substance abuse and addiction problems, including those requiring high-intensity care, according to Director of Outreach, Zach Taylor. He said the dangers of addiction lead to three places.

“Jails, institutions and death,” Taylor said. “If you continue using drugs or alcohol, eventually you’re going to end up in a treatment center or mental institution. You end up in jail or a prison, or you end up dead. That’s pretty much the way addiction goes if left untreated.”

Regarding misconceptions or unknowns about addiction and subsequent recovery, Murray and Taylor both said that it is a disease and not a moral issue.

“At some point in my case, personally, and many people I know, we become powerless over the ability to not take drugs and alcohol,” Murray said. “People who don’t understand that oftentimes will be critical of that concept. Addiction is an equal opportunity disease. It affects all races, all economic types in every country in the world.”

“People who have addictions don’t process chemicals the same way as other people would,” Taylor said. “You might go to the doctor and get prescribed Percocet after a surgery. You take one of them and you feel absolutely terrible. There are other people who will take the pill and say, ‘This is the best feeling I’ve ever had. I want more and more and more of these, and I can’t stop.'”

A point that Murray noted can make recovery difficult is the societal and social pressure to indulge.

“In society, particularly in business, there’s an expectation that you should be able to drink,” he said. “That being part of the good old boys at the country club is consuming alcohol. The inability or the unwillingness to consume alcohol can sometimes isolate people socially.”

In speaking on his own journey with substance abuse and recovery, Taylor said he is a testament to recovery always being possible.

“I was one that it took me being incarcerated to snap out of it,” he said. “Enter into treatment, try to take care of yourself sooner than later, because you can really go down the road where you devastate not only yourself but your family and the community that you live in. I was an absolute mess. If I can do it, anybody could do it.”

With the opening and continued progress of Bravo Zulu House, Murray said he has found a receptive and positive community in Martin County that wants to see recovery for those with addictions.

“Hundreds and hundreds of people and over 100 businesses in and around Martin County helped donate over a million dollars worth of cash, labor, and construction materials,” he said. “Without the support of [everyone] coming together and saying, ‘we’re going to put aside our differences because we are united in our desire to help veterans,’ and without that support from the Martin County community, the House would not exist.”

For National Recovery Month, Taylor said Recovery in Motion participated in the Recovery Walk at the State Capitol on Friday and will be hosting a Recovery Day in the Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sep 20 at Lincoln Park in Fairmont.

As someone also in long-term recovery, Murray said raising awareness on addiction and what can be done is crucial.

“The opportunity is for people to hear that that’s normal,” he said. “You’re not a bad person. You’re just sick. We have a solution. I thought I was a bad human being. Turns out that I was just a sick human being.”

For more information or assistance, visit Bravo Zulu House at bravozuluhouse.org/, Recovery in Motion at recoveryinmotionmn.com/, or Fountain Centers at mayoclinichealthsystem.org/locations/fairmont/services-and-treatments/addiction-treatment.

For Narcotics or Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, Martin County Health and Human Services Behavioral Health Supervisor Nicole Anderson recommends using meeting locators online, such as findrecovery.com/