The Glendora Recovery Foundation’s Spring Expo made its debut on May 18 in the parking lot of the Glendora Recovery Center.
Executive director of the foundation and former Citrus College student Britany Trudgeon led the event and shared the mission of the foundation: “to love others until they can love themselves” Trudgeon said.
The Glendora Recovery Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was founded in November 2023 by Amy Roberts. The foundation’s website shares that they are dedicated to raising funds to support all people who lack resources for substance abuse and mental health treatment, as well as raising awareness about these concerns.
The spring expo packed in various small business booths to fundraise and spread awareness about the foundation. All the vendors eagerly shared their love and support for the foundation, including the owner of Treats Over Tricks, who shared only her first name, Marissa.
“Supporting other people, getting them on their feet, and uplifting everybody, I’m all about that,” Marissa said.
The Glendora Recovery Foundation works with various organizations, such as The Glendora Recovery Center.
Bailee Karst was at the expo in a booth for the Glendora Recovery Center, and shared the welcoming nature of the center.
“There’s a lot of people who want treatment, but can’t afford it,” she said. “We’re trying anything we can do to make it more accessible.”
Karst and Trudgeon said that rehabilitation centers of all kinds are quite expensive. Whether it’s a sober living house or an outpatient facility, it is expensive and difficult to get covered by insurance, especially Medi-Cal.
Karst and Trudgeon said the recovery foundation and recovery center are working hard to get approved to accept Medi-Cal, a two-year process that will be a huge win for making recovery possible for low-income people.
In the meantime, Trudgeon said the Glendora Recovery Foundation will allocate funds to people to receive tailored treatment to ensure success and sobriety.
The Glendora Recovery Foundation is unique because “all the employees have personally struggled with substance abuse and are in recovery,” Trudgeon said. Trudgeon said deep understanding, compassion and love is what drives their efforts.
Karst and Trudgeon highlighted the damaging role that the stigmatization of substance abuse and mental health issues has in dehumanizing people.
“It’s almost like discrimination,” Karst said. “Stigma goes to a certain extent, but then people are even kicked out of hospitals for displaying addictive behavior. Addiction manifests in symptoms or behaviors. Erratic behavior, lying, that’s an indication that someone has a disease and they’re suffering.”
Trudgeon added to Karst’s comment and said, “We’re normal, beautiful people that need to break the bondage of disease.”
Trudgeon said there is no telling who or who isn’t an addict and there is no stereotypical image of a person struggling with addiction. Anyone can become addicted to a substance or alcohol.
Trudgeon said she aims to tackle down all the stereotypes surrounding all the common misconceptions surrounding drug abuse. She said all it takes is one time, one person peer pressuring, one traumatic event that is too hard to handle. These situations are bound to occur, but it is not the end of a person’s story.
Trudgeon urged anyone who might be considering help to take that step and reach out and said it all starts with a phone call. The Glendora Recovery Foundation’s number is 626-594-0881.
Trudgeon said, “If you have any thought or idea that you might have an issue, talk to somebody. We understand. Everyone who works here is a recovering addict or alcoholic.”
Trudgeon said hope and love are funds that will never deplete in the hearts of the selfless workers a part of the organization.
“We will love you until you can love yourself,” Trudgeon said.
