Overcoming drug addiction and bringing ‘Hope to the City’
By: Patrick Ross
Drug addiction is a tough obstacle to overcome, but many families in
Eastern Kentucky have been touched by the tragedy of drug abuse in
some way.
Eukie Ward, a Johnson County woman who says she suffered from drug
addiction for years -- trying multiple times to quit -- but found too
often that drugs were her “go-to place.”
“In December 2011 I was indicted on drug charges and I went to jail
and was looking at prison time,” Ward said. Ward was fortunate that
her sentence included spending time in rehab at Karen’s Place in
Louisa where she participated in the center’s 100 day program.
Ward said she went to school to be a cosmotologist, and gave it all
up, because God had another plan for her life, she said. With the
tables now turned, Ward is now working at Karen’s Place to help others
overcome the same types of drug addiction issues she herself had
previously faced.
Ward says she had a vision this past April to hold a rally to help
people addicted to drugs in the local community. “My vision is to try
to hit every city in eastern Kentucky,” she said.
She hopes to see a major decline in the drug use around eastern
Kentucky. This rally, she says, will hopefully help raise awareness
and educate the public on ways to find assistance, and also rally the
region against drug abuse.
Ward says she suffered drug addiction for ten years and is proof that
it can be defeated. She says she has turned her life over to God and
she knows He has a plan for her life.
Ward said she overcame her drug addiction by having “good family
support, and God, a praying mother, and my chidren, who really inspire
me to be the mother I am meant to be,” she said.
Ward said there is hope after addiction. “I want, even if it is just
one person that comes that is touched by something that is said, if
she did it or this person did it, I can do it, too,” Ward added. Ward
says she has been drug-free “going on three years.”
Ward’s “Hope in the City” rally will take place this Saturday, Oct. 18
at the Sipp Theatre, located in downtown Paintsville, from 7-9 p.m.
This event will include live entertainment, guest speakers, and free
food and refreshements. For more information on this event you can
call Eukie Ward at 606-792-7531 or visit the “Hope in the City”
Facebook page.
By: Patrick Ross
Drug addiction is a tough obstacle to overcome, but many families in
Eastern Kentucky have been touched by the tragedy of drug abuse in
some way.
Eukie Ward, a Johnson County woman who says she suffered from drug
addiction for years -- trying multiple times to quit -- but found too
often that drugs were her “go-to place.”
“In December 2011 I was indicted on drug charges and I went to jail
and was looking at prison time,” Ward said. Ward was fortunate that
her sentence included spending time in rehab at Karen’s Place in
Louisa where she participated in the center’s 100 day program.
Ward said she went to school to be a cosmotologist, and gave it all
up, because God had another plan for her life, she said. With the
tables now turned, Ward is now working at Karen’s Place to help others
overcome the same types of drug addiction issues she herself had
previously faced.
Ward says she had a vision this past April to hold a rally to help
people addicted to drugs in the local community. “My vision is to try
to hit every city in eastern Kentucky,” she said.
She hopes to see a major decline in the drug use around eastern
Kentucky. This rally, she says, will hopefully help raise awareness
and educate the public on ways to find assistance, and also rally the
region against drug abuse.
Ward says she suffered drug addiction for ten years and is proof that
it can be defeated. She says she has turned her life over to God and
she knows He has a plan for her life.
Ward said she overcame her drug addiction by having “good family
support, and God, a praying mother, and my chidren, who really inspire
me to be the mother I am meant to be,” she said.
Ward said there is hope after addiction. “I want, even if it is just
one person that comes that is touched by something that is said, if
she did it or this person did it, I can do it, too,” Ward added. Ward
says she has been drug-free “going on three years.”
Ward’s “Hope in the City” rally will take place this Saturday, Oct. 18
at the Sipp Theatre, located in downtown Paintsville, from 7-9 p.m.
This event will include live entertainment, guest speakers, and free
food and refreshements. For more information on this event you can
call Eukie Ward at 606-792-7531 or visit the “Hope in the City”
Facebook page.
