The Re.Center NRV

02/13/2026

02/11/2026

Fear is loud.
Love is steady.

02/10/2026

Some days aren’t for solving.
They’re for tending.

So, If today feels scattered or heavy
You’re not alone.
There’s nothing to force here.

02/06/2026

Tonight wasn’t about having the right answers.

It was about showing up.
It was about naming what substance use actually looks like in our lives and our communities. The messy parts. The human parts. The parts that don’t fit neatly into policy or statistics.

We listened to lived experience. We talked about systems. We talked about harm, healing, and what support really means when you live in a rural place.

No fixing. No shaming. No pretending.

Just honest conversation and connection.

Silence hasn’t worked.
Connection still does.

Grateful for the panelists, the students, and every person who showed up willing to listen and stay present.

This conversation doesn’t end here.

02/05/2026

Substance use affects every corner of the New River Valley.

Families. Schools. Workplaces. Friend groups. Neighbors.

This week, we’re creating space for an honest, community-centered conversation about what’s actually happening in the NRV, and how we move forward together.

No shaming. No finger-pointing.

Just real people, lived experience, public health context, and practical ways to save lives and strengthen our communities.

Whether you’re a community member, parent, provider, educator, faith leader, or someone with lived experience — you belong in this conversation.

📍 Blacksburg Library
🗓 February 5
⏰ 6–8 PM
🥪 Free food.

Open to all. All are welcome.

Come as you are. Bring questions. Bring curiosity.

02/04/2026

02/03/2026

This morning’s reminder landed right where it needed to.

Resistance isn’t always a warning sign.
Sometimes it’s a doorway.

The places we avoid.
The conversations we delay.
The feelings we keep circling but never touch.

That’s often where the lesson lives.

Growth usually asks us to loosen our grip on old beliefs, old stories, old ways of protecting ourselves. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. It wouldn’t feel like resistance.

Pay attention to what you’re pushing against today.
That edge might be the very place where learning, relief, or change begins.

You don’t have to force anything.

Just notice.

That alone can be enough to start the shift.

01/29/2026

Substance Use in the NRV: A Public Health Perspective

This isn’t a lecture.
It’s a conversation.

Join us for an open, community-based discussion about substance use in the New River Valley, the real impacts of the War on Drugs, and where we go from here.

You’ll hear from local peers with lived experience, public health voices, and people who care deeply about this region and the people in it.

Come with questions.
Come with concerns.
Come to listen, learn, and connect.

🗓 January 29, 2026
⏰ 5:30–7:30 PM
📍 Christiansburg Library
📌 125 Sheltman St, Christiansburg, VA

Free. Open to the public.
Subway sandwiches provided.
All are welcome.

Real talk. Real people. Real solutions.

01/21/2026

Grateful is the word today.

Virginia Tech News just shared an article about the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) work happening across campus, and I’m honored to be part of it.

Huge thank you to Erica Berry Coates for trusting me with this work and giving me an opportunity during a season of my recovery when I truly needed one.

When one of my most prominent recovery supports was ripped away from me, this mission and this community helped keep me grounded and moving forward.

Proud of what we are building at Virginia Tech, and grateful for every person who has leaned into these skills.

Hope is real.
And connection is powerful.

Counselor Erica Berry Coates and doctoral student Jon Dance continue to explore innovative ways to use the Community Resiliency Model in higher education.

01/20/2026

Tonight in Pulaski County.

And coming soon across the New River Valley.

These community forums are an opportunity to come together for real conversation about substance use in our region, the impact of the War on Drugs, and how we move forward together.

You do not need to be an expert.
You do not need to have the right words.
You just need to show up as you are.

Tonight
Pulaski County Library
5:30–7:30 PM

Additional forums are happening soon throughout the NRV.
If tonight isn’t your night, there will be others.

01/17/2026