Samantha Bradley, center, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the western regional director at Sunrise Community for Recovery and Wellness, cuts the ribbon to officially open the Tohi Edasdi (A place of peace) Recovery Community Center in Wayohi (Wolftown) in Cherokee, N.C. on the morning of Tuesday, July 29. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – “This is a dream come true,” said Samantha Bradley just prior to cutting the ribbon on a new facility that will provide a friendly face and a caring heart to those in active addiction or those on their recovery journey. She helped open the new Tohi Edasdi Recovery Community Center located in Wayohi (Wolftown) in Cherokee, N.C. on the morning of Tuesday, July 29.
Bradley spoke to the crowd and said, in part, “We hope that we can help someone. I just want to be able to help someone make it to the next day.”
Tohi Edasdi is part of the Sunrise Community for Recovery and Wellness program which describes itself as “a nonprofit staffed entirely by Certified Peer Support Specialists who draw on their own lived experience of recovery from mental health and/or substance use challenges to support others”.
Bradley commented on the staff of the Center, “We’re all peer supports. We’re all in recovery from something – substances or mental health.”
She spoke of her own past with addiction. “When I was into my addiction, here on the (Qualla) Boundary, I was what they call a chronic relapser. I call it a chronic overcomer. But, I kept going back over and over. At the time the Hospital didn’t have all the fancy long-term…now we have this beautiful continuum at the Hospital, which is amazing. But, at that time I got sent to Asheville for treatment and that’s how I got in contact with Sunrise.
In 2016, I came out of treatment and they were doing this beautiful work. We hire peer supports, we’re giving people a chance, we pay them a living wage, and to be able to support people where they’re at. My dream has always been…I love Asheville and Asheville has a lot of resources, but I’m not from Asheville. I’m from Cherokee. I’m EBCI (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) and this is my home and I felt like my people deserved more.”
According to Sunrise, peer support specialists can help people find some of the following services: wellness options; MAT (medicated assisted treatment); food, clothing, and hygiene supplies; employment assistance; community navigation; transitional housing; help obtaining an ID; harm reduction services including Naloxone; and education/training.
Sue Polston, Sunrise executive director, stated, “I just wanted to thank everybody for coming out here, and thank the Tribe and everybody that has given us this opportunity to be here. As Samantha said, I supported this 100 percent, but I knew I couldn’t do it. I’m not from here. I don’t know the culture. But, every one of these folks back here do and I am so privileged to have them on our team and have every one of you all here today. This is a bigger turnout than our Asheville drop-in center.”
A portion of the interior of the Center
On the Center, Bradley said, “What it is, in essence, is a place where people can just come and be. They don’t have to be here for any reason. They don’t have to be sober. They don’t have to be in recovery. They don’t even have to be on the track to recovery to be just a community member. It’s just a place to come. And, in our place specifically, Tohi Edasdi, is a place of peace. We want you to feel like you’re at peace when you come here.”
She thanked the Wolftown Community Club for their support. “Wolftown Community Club has been super supportive. We’re in their community. When we came in, we didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes so we would just go around and introduce ourselves. Wolftown opened their arms to us and has given us training space when we didn’t have it.”
People are shown gathered for Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting.
Pat Oocumma, of the Wolftown Community Club, praised the work of Sunrise. “They are those that have found themselves and what I see in them – leaders, peers, warriors, and not sugar-coating anything. No judging.”
Bradley further noted, “Our main thing is showing people that we’re going to show up for them no matter what. We’re going to show up.
The idea is Tohi Edasdi, ‘A Place of Peace’. We’re right on the river. We’re going to keep culture at the forefront…It’s free. It’s low-barrier and we connect people with what they need.”
Everyone is welcome, Bradley stressed. “We hope that we can help someone. I just want to be able to help someone make it to the next day.”
The Center will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (828) 506-8505.
