'Recover Out Loud' celebrates successes of former inmates - East Idaho News
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‘Recover Out Loud’ celebrates successes of former inmates

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The Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) hosted their third annual Recover Out Loud recovery and re-entry event Friday outside the ISU Bennion Student Union Building.

Although normally an in-person celebration of participants’ efforts to battle their addictions and reintegrate into the community, this year’s ceremony looked different.

“We had to think outside the box on this one with COVID,” explained Stephanie Taylor-Silva, the re-entry specialist for District 7 Probation and Parole. “We thought a drive-through event would be great.”

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Grace Hansen, EastIdahoNews.com

For judicial purposes, Idaho is divided into seven districts. District seven covers most of east Idaho and includes Bingham, Bonneville, Butte, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison and Teton counties. Individuals on felony supervision from any of those counties were eligible to participate in this year’s Recover Out Loud.

The drive-through event, which was well attended despite a rainy evening, offered everyone who came a cinch bag loaded with gift certificates, candy, popcorn, soda, IDOC merchandise, and information on regional and state recovery resources.

“We have roughly 1,800 folks just in District 7 alone,” said Taylor-Silva. “People need support right now more than ever.”

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Grace Hansen, EastIdahoNews.com

In addition to the treats and information, IDOC entered all participants into a drawing for larger prizes, including a TV, wireless headphones, and various gift certificates.

Idaho State Police, the Idaho Falls Police Department, and the Bonneville County Sherriff’s Office also showed up to help host the event, and all the agencies worked together with IDOC to hand out gift bags and greet the participants.

“Our community is really struggling with substance abuse right now,” Taylor-Silva said. “We just want to be there to cheer them on and let them know that we’re here for them.”

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