September is National Recovery Month.

Each year countless Kansans enter programs for help with substance abuse – locally, the evidence of substance abuse is clear. Take a look at the Geary County Booking Photos over the past month and the number of drug/alcohol abuse related arrests are alarming; even more so, that only reflects those that have been arrested.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) uses the month to bring awareness and understanding of mental and substance abuse disorders.

Locally, the Geary County Prevention Partnership (GCPP) are working to bring awareness while encouraging family fun.

“We’re partnering with different folks to bring awareness in the community, to let folks know that there are people out there that are struggling with addiction and do need support from the local community,” said Lawrence Palmer, GCPP.

Palmer noted that the GCPP was put together to address addiction issues in the community. “We’ve done things with Junction City Police Department block part [for] National Recovery Month, we’ve done a haunted hustle – which is a 5K – and we have an event coming up next month which is another 5K called the Superhero Family Fun Run.”

The fun run will be held at Acorn’s Resort at Milford Lake on Saturday, September 9th.

“You come dressed up as your favorite superhero – whether that’s Batman, Superman, you could come dressed up as law enforcement, a firefighter – it doesn’t necessarily have to be a superhero like you portray,” said Angela Gardner, GCPP.

All ages are welcome to participate in the fun run. Registration is open now at active.com. You can also find a registration link on the GCPP Facebook page.

Registration is $10 for youth, $20 for adults.

There will also be a speaker after the race from the SAMHSA to educate those in attendance on substance abuse recovery.

The Junction City and Geary County Commissions will both sign proclamations recognizing National Recovery Month locally.