There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, or in the case of A Light of Hope’s 12th annual Be the Light 5k race, through the tunnel.
Participants dressed in neon attire and glowsticks on Saturday at West Creek Park as they participated in the race to not only support the nonprofit, but also to raise awareness for youth support groups navigating addiction.
Founded by Tim and Susan Traurig in 2008, A Light of Hope has become a beacon in grounding those who need guidance.
“I’ve never met anybody that is more of a give-back person in my life. Tim and his wife were going through a really hard timewith two of their three daughters, and started A Light of Hope, not only as a place for young people to come and get support, but also for the parents. They started a place that they would’ve wanted to come to,” said Kathleen Wood, executive director of the nonprofit. “It’s helped so many people. My husband and I started coming here nine years ago.”
Wood experienced her own struggles at the time, and she found solace coming to A Light of Hope.
“Our son was struggling. It saved his life. It saved our life as parents. You’re spinning. You don’t know what to do. You’redesperate, and nobody understands. There’s so much shame involved, too, you don’t know who to talk to. It’s just such a wonderful support, and it’s completely free. It’s showing these young people that you can have fun and do goofy things and not be high,” Wood said. “A lot of the [members] are here helping. Are serving. Most of them will run or walk.”
Supporting adolescents and adults from the ages of 14 to 26, Wood finds gratification in knowing that the youth with shared experiences support each other, while also supporting the community.
“I want people to know there’s help, there’s hope. Don’t isolate. You don’t have to do it alone. It’s a tendency to isolate, but just hang on. There’s a way through it. So many miracles happen, so many amazing things,” Wood said. “Reach out via our email or phone. Come check out the meeting — we would love to talk to you. And we have parent groups in addition to the youth groups.”
Traurig was inspired to take action, after seeing that people often discussed helping, but never fully took the initiative.
“This event came out of seeing a need and wanting to make a difference. I think a lot of times we, as people, will see needs, but we don’t do something about it, we just talk about it. It is fulfilling to see lives changed and know that you had a part in that somehow by providing an opportunity where people can get their lives back from the insanity they live in,” Traurig said.
Empathizing with both the youth and the parents, the Traurigs created something they would’ve wanted to have access to themselves.
“We wanted to build something that we wish we could have had as parents. We wanted a certain type of support as parents back then, when we were struggling with our daughters. We wanted our daughters to have a certain type of support we didn’tsee available here. We were spending thousands and thousands of dollars to send them to rehabs, come back into this community, relapse, connect with the old peer group, and start the process all over again,” Traurig said. “We wanted to give them an alternative peer group of kids who are safe, sober, working on the same stuff, trying to get through it together.”
Having been established for 18 years, Traurig now sees the success stories of those who joined A Light of Hope.
“Darren Brewster came to A Light of Hope at least 15 years ago, and he was here for a couple of years before he really got clean and sober. He had relapsed. He had a horrible overdose and almost died … He got clean and sober, and now he has started multiple businesses, and he hires a lot of the young people who are trying to get their life back. He’s married now and has two kids,” Traurig said. “I was a young kid back in the mid-’80s in the fire department, and the chief there asked me to be his driver. It wasn’t too long afterwards that … there was a lot of chaos during that season of time. I could not have gotten through that time if it wasn’t for that chief. Years and years later, I meet Darren and I go, ‘Brewster.’ I said, ‘Do you have a relative in the fire department?’ and he said, ‘Yeah, my grandpa.’ His grandpa was my chief that I was driving.”
“Bringing light into the darkness of addiction,” as Traurig said to the participants prior to the race, it is evident that A Light of Hope isn’t just a metaphor.
“We don’t have any requirements. Just come as you are, and listen. Be willing to try to change your life, and stay connected. Everything we do is confidential. Everything that’s said in our group stays in those groups. It becomes a family, and you rely on each other for your fun, for your social time and when you’re going through tough times,” Traurig said.
For more information, visit alightofhopescv.org.
