ADA – A day of prevention and recovery will be the focus as the “Step Out of the Darkness” event returns to shed light on truths about drug addiction and dependency.
This special event takes place Saturday, October 9. The event, free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Brandon Whitten Institute for Addiction and Recovery at East Central University and the Pontotoc County Drug Free Coalition.
“Step Out of the Darkness” begins at 10:30 a.m. with a coalition-hosted prayer march from the Pontotoc County Courthouse to the ECU Centennial Plaza. The event then shifts to ECU’s Kerr Activities Center where a prevention and recovery rally begins at 11:30 a.m.
Participants are encouraged to park near the Kerr Activities Center and buses will be shuttled to the Pontotoc County Courthouse Plaza to begin the walk. The first shuttle bus runs at 9:30 a.m. with the last shuttle leaving for the Courthouse Plaza at 10 a.m.
Free T-shirts, provided by the Addiction & Behavioral Health Center, will be available to the walkers who can pick them up at the Courthouse Plaza. Walkers will depart from the Courthouse Plaza and march down Main Street toward ECU’s Centennial Plaza. Stops will be made along the way for times of prayer.
At noon the event will feature food, fun and facts in the Kerr Activities Center. A talent show will take place and booths providing information about substance abuse, prevention, treatment and recovery will be available. Food will be provided by Citizens Bank, H2O Church, First United Bank and Unite Oklahoma. Giveaways, through registration, will be held at various booths and a grand prize cash drawing will take place at 1:30 p.m. Those who participated in the prayer march are eligible for the grand prize.
For more information on this important event, please contact Holli Witherington, executive director of the Brandon Whitten Institute, at 580-559-5815.
Cutline: Participants in a previous year’s “Step Out of the Darkness” event gather in preparation for the march from the Pontotoc County Courthouse down Main Street to ECU’s Centennial Plaza. (The Brandon Whitten Institute/ECU)
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