Whitney Devine and Austin Dambacher Explain Stronger Together Recovery & Community Fest
September 3, 2026
Whitney Devine and Austin Dambacher with the Sangamon County Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) explain the 2nd Annual Stronger Together Recovery & Community Festival.
Melissa Snider:
Welcome to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois. I'm your co-host, Melissa Snider. In the studio with me today is Whitney Devine and Austin Dambacher with the Sangamon County Recovery Oriented Systems of Care, or the Sangamon County ROSC. Whitney, Austin, thank you for being here with me today.
Whitney Devine:
Of course, of course.
Austin Dambacher:
Thanks for having us again.
Melissa Snider:
Happy to have you.
Whitney Devine:
Yes, we love coming out here and we're grateful for any opportunity to talk about recovery and what we do.
Melissa Snider:
So September is National Recovery Month and in honor of National Recovery Month, Gateway Foundation, Birth to Five Illinois and the Sangamon County ROSC are teaming up for a special event called the Stronger Together Recovery and Community Fest.
Whitney Devine:
Yes, absolutely. We're super excited about that. We have great partners working on this with us and Gateway is actually going through a rebranding phase so they will be Alpharus Health. So If you see Alpharus come up on flyers, it's Gateway. They're changing their name.
Melissa Snider:
Good to know.
Whitney Devine:
But yeah, we're excited to work with them. This is our second annual recovery celebration.
Melissa Snider:
Tell us a little bit about the event, when it is, and what people can expect.
Whitney Devine:
Yeah, so it's Saturday, September 12th from 11 A.m. to 2 P.m. out at Tom Madonia Park East, which is 405 East Lake Shore Drive, Springfield, Illinois, 62712. That is an outdoor event and we just have really a plethora of things going on. This thing is just getting bigger and bigger every year. The entire event is free and open to community members and kids are welcome as well with supervision. There's going to be food, games. Birth to Five is bringing a bunch of kids activities. So there will be a lot of like family friendly type activities available. We're going to have arts and crafts available, community organizations are going to have resource booths. So they'll be out there talking about the services that their organization provides. We'll also have live music. So Living Brats and Grant Barnett are both performing. Fishing available if people have a valid fishing license because we are by a lake. And then good friend of ours, Alexa is going to be leading us in group yoga. And then also there is going to be haircuts. So free haircuts. So literally anything and everything is happening. We're super excited.
Austin Dambacher:
We're up to 20 different organizations having resource tables out there, which is a few more than we had last year. Kind of like Whitney said, bigger and better every single year. And this year, I mean, it's by the lake and who doesn't love being by the lake?
Melissa Snider:
Yeah, there's a little something for everyone.
Whitney Devine:
We've been extremely fortunate. So another thing that we're offering with this is we want people to engage and learn about community resources. People just don't know they're there. So we're doing this bingo card where individuals interact with each booth and they get a stamp on a punch card. And if they fill up their card, then they go into a raffle. The Springfield business community has been absolutely amazing donating prizes for this event.
Melissa Snider:
So this is your second annual festival.
Whitney Devine:
Yes.
Melissa Snider:
How did the idea of the festival come about?
Whitney Devine:
I would say it was kind of a collective idea that sort of happened. There's lots of celebrations that happen in other cities for recovery month in September. And we're really big on bringing people together in recovery, but also increasing visibility in our communities. So some of that looks like having these big public events and inviting community members to come out and see that recovery doesn't have one face, you know, that it could be your your aunt, your teacher, your sister, and so just kind of creating that safe space and bringing everybody together. So it being recovery month in September, we really want to celebrate that recovery in our communities.
Austin Dambacher:
To piggyback off of that, I think it was born out of all of us kind of agreeing that it didn't make sense that there wasn't already one. I always say that Springfield and Sangamon County in general is an anomaly whenever it comes to recovery and the amount of services that are here that support recovery, whether they're medical providers or 12 step communities, housing organizations, so we all kind of decided, hey, let's get together, do this and see what happens. And last year we had 17 orgs that had tables and resources. We had a little over 180 people. So this year we've been planning for months and months and months, but our goal is to go bigger with it each just challenge that stigma, show people that people do recover, and then also, like Whitney said, just provide a place for people to go to celebrate and to hang out together.
Melissa Snider:
This event is for everyone. So if somebody's a little on the fence about if they should go or not, they just need a little bit of an extra push, what advice would you give them?
Whitney Devine:
I would say, if it would make them more comfortable, everyone is welcome. So if they've got a friend that they want to bring with them to just make it feel more comfortable, that's totally fine. And there will be a lot of different things going on. And however they want to participate that's in their comfort zone, they're absolutely welcome to do.
Austin Dambacher:
So often we're of the mindset like, oh, what's the worst that could happen? So I like to flip that and be like, you know what? What's the best thing that could happen? There will be resources, free food. Who doesn't like free food? the lake with games, with prizes. We'll just be hanging out outside enjoying the weather hopefully. No pressure.
Melissa Snider:
Right. Yeah, and it's outside.
Whitney Devine:
Hopefully we'll have beautiful weather and I can speak from personal experience. I'm in recovery myself and I've been in that place, especially in early recovery where it was really hard not having those social connections because when I entered into recovery, it was like for me, I needed to change a lot of things. So trying to figure out number one, like things to do for fun, that alone was just daunting. You know, what do I even like to do in social situations? That was terrifying for me. So I totally understand. that and get that. And I remember early on I got invited to like a board game night and this was, a smaller thing. But I remember thinking that like, gosh, that's going to be so awkward. What do I do? but it was one of those things where I just took a chance and showed up, and I just showed up as I was. It's uncomfortable at first, but I was able to meet my community that way. And it just started by simply showing up. So I just encourage people to take a shot even if they aren't there the whole time, if they just come in and grab some food, say, hey, we would love to have them. We recognize everybody's path to recovery looks different. And so we support that and we just want to help people meet their community. Connections are so important. For me, that was imperative to find my community, you know, and so that's a big reason why we do what we do is to just bring people together so they're not alone.
Melissa Snider:
What kind of resources will be available to people at the event?
Austin Dambacher:
So far, we have got Illinois Coalition for Community Services, Safe Families for Children, Oxford House Inc., Family Service Center, SIU Office of Community Health Work, Hispanic Women of Springfield, Kidzeum of Health and Science, SIU Start Clinic, Washington Street Mission, YMCA of Springfield, Mini O'Beirne Crisis Nursery, Youth Service Bureau, TASC, Envision Unlimited, Phoenix Center, Memorial Health, Family Guidance Centers, and then, you know, ROSC, Birth to Five Illinois, and then Alpharus Health, formerly known as Gateway.
Melissa Snider:
So you name it and they are there.
Whitney Devine:
A wide variety and that list is growing every day it seems.
Austin Dambacher:
So every year we do this mass needs assessment and year after year, it's like, oh, there's not as many resources for families and youth as there should be. So we're trying to get them out there to help kind of just spread the awareness that, hey, we do have these organizations here that do this great work. And then we've also got some medical providers and a bunch of different social service agencies, which at the end of the day, we just want to help people be healthy and happy, whatever that looks like for them. So we just try working together as best as we can, whether it's ROSC and Alpharu and Birth to Five putting on an event like this, or whether it's us showing up to other people's events, bringing our resources there.
Melissa Snider:
There's so much that goes on behind the scenes. How long does it take to plan this?
Whitney Devine:
Oh, gosh. When did we start? Was it the beginning of summer or late spring?
Austin Dambacher:
It was closer to the beginning of the year. It's like first quarter of this year.
Whitney Devine:
Yeah, so we've had several meetings where, you know, the first meeting was, yeah, we're going to do this. So then, you know, and then we've just been ironing out details as we've gone along. And from the very beginning, ourselves and Alpharus, formerly Gateway, They had partnered with us last year and we agreed that we wanted to try to go even bigger than last year. And that's when we brought in Birth to Five Illinois, who has been such a huge partner for us, not only for this event, but just in everything that we do, Birth to Five Illinois is just amazingly supportive and the knowledge that they have, the connection, like they just know everybody. It seems like they're fantastic. So we decided to bring them in this year because we need And their area is kind of kids and families. And so we thought who better to bring in to sort of lead that area. So they agreed and it's just taken off from there idea after idea. I mean, it's going to be awesome.
Melissa Snider:
Lots of fun to be had and resources available. For those seeking resources outside of the event, where should they go or who should they get in contact with?
Austin Dambacher:
So if people want to get help, we're the ROSC Council for Sangamon County, but Ross is a statewide initiative through the Department of Human Services. So there are 49 other councils throughout Illinois. Some of the smaller counties might join together to have a singular ROSC Council, but we all do the same thing in terms of helping connect people with any and every kind of resource possible. I'm fairly certain all of us host recovery friendly events open to anyone and everyone. And those can be educational events, art events, yoga events, giant celebrations in the park, how we're doing. But we all kind of do the same thing. So every now and then we'll have people come across our table and they're like, oh, well, I'm from this place or that place. And we'll be like, oh, there's actually a Ross Council there. And we can hook them up with them just so that they can have extra support whenever they go back there. Because I don't think we can ever have too much support.
Melissa Snider:
The more support the better.
Whitney Devine:
Yep. So connect with your local ROSC if you need help. We act as connectors of resources. We make a community resource guide. It has anything from where the local parks are to health care, dental care, mental health, I mean, anything you can really think of is there.
Melissa Snider:
Where do you find that guide at?
Whitney Devine:
We have it online at www.sangamoncorosc---so rosc.org. And then there's a community resources tab on there that has like a flipbook, an online flipbook version of our resource guide. We also have physical booklets. We try to have it available in multiple different forms. So if people don't have access to the internet, they can access it in one way or another. Because we recognize that our area majorly is like the world of recovery, substance use disorder recovery. So with our resource guide, identify champions in other spaces. So birth to five, their families. So they have worked on the section for families and really combing through that and making sure things are up to date and accurate. Also, they have a one pager and on their website as well, they have the resource guide of resource guides. So they have compiled information on all the resource guides available in the county.
Melissa Snider:
If someone is seeking a path to recovery, what would you say to them?
Whitney Devine:
First of all, I would say I'm really proud of that person for recognizing that and being brave and seeking help because it's not easy to do. Secondly, I would say talking to people you love that are historically supportive.
Austin Dambacher:
There's like 3 different ways that I could answer this. I mean, if they need anything, definitely reach out to us. I'm in recovery as well. Whitney's in recovery, you know, whether someone's looking for a 12-step meeting, we can help with that. If they're looking to get into inpatient treatment anywhere, we can help with that. They just need to talk, we can help with that.
Whitney Devine:
That's the biggest thing I think is just if they're seeking help and they're saying they need help, that's a huge starting point. So just reaching out, reaching out to ourselves, MAR NOW is another resource. 211 is another one.
Austin Dambacher:
Another piece of advice would be not to wait. I mean, personally, I'm very tired of reading obituaries of people that I knew, going to funerals, all of that. It doesn't get easier out there. It doesn't get better. People who struggled are not alone. Been there, done that. But like also the grass is greener on the other side. And I know hundreds of people, Whitney knows hundreds of people who have made it to that other side, you know, where the grass is greener, where we can have a board game night with other people in recovery and laugh from someone like doing charades, being a willy worm on the floor. Like it's insane, but life can get really, really good. if people want help, all they have to do is reach out.
Melissa Snider:
Sometimes finding that starting point can be difficult.
Austin Dambacher:
Yep.
Melissa Snider:
For National Recovery Month, do we have any other celebrations going on or anything else in the schedule?
Whitney Devine:
We're partnering with Downtown Springfield Inc. We are taking purple ribbons and we're going downtown Springfield by the Old State Capitol and we're putting purple ribbons all along that fence line. Purple is the color for National Recovery Month. We also have banners that we've made that have anti-stigma campaign messaging, but also explaining what the purple means.
Melissa Snider:
So let's talk about the event one more time. When, where, and what can people expect?
Austin Dambacher:
It is the second annual Stronger Together Recovery and Community Fest, hosted by Sangamon County ROSC, Recovery Oriented Systems of Care. Alpharus Health, formerly Gateway Foundation and Birth to Five Illinois: Region 51. It will be Saturday, September 12th from 11 A.m. to 2 P.m. out at Tom Medonia Park East, which is 405 East Lake Shore Drive, Springfield, Illinois, 62712. We will have free food, games, arts and crafts, kids activities, a bunch of community organizations sharing resources, live music, raffle prizes. If you want to fish, you can fish as long as you have a valid Illinois fishing license. There will be group yoga and free haircuts.
Whitney Devine:
And the whole family is welcome.
Melissa Snider:
Thank you 2 so much for coming in today.
Whitney Devine:
Thank you so much for having us.
Austin Dambacher:
Thanks again.
Melissa Snider:
Once again, we have Whitney Devine and Austin Dambacher with the Sangamon County Recovery Oriented Systems of Care. You are listening to Community Voices on NPR Illinois. Community Voices is a production of NPR Illinois.