In honor of National Recovery Month, Detroit Recovery Project Inc. is hosting the Black Men’s Healing Conference: Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic on Friday, Sept. 14, in Detroit.
“We’re just trying to have a real conversation and increase awareness with the brothers. Everything starts and ends with your health and taking care of your health,” said Andre Johnson, president and CEO of Detroit Recovery Project, who will speak at the conference.
This year’s conference emcee is Derek “Fonzworth Bentley” Watkins, and the keynote speaker is behavioral consultant Samuel Simmons.
The conference will provide a forum where Black men can open up with each other and address multiple issues impacting their lives, health, families and communities.
“When you talk to men about their health, the first thing that comes to mind is physical health,” Watkins said. “When we talk about health, it should be emotional, spiritual, and mental.”
Conference leaders will explore various solutions to the problem of opioid addiction and address several other topics, including how life after drug abuse and incarceration; fatherhood; education; gambling addiction; and spirituality.
Other scheduled keynote speakers are men from various areas of expertise, including Robert Shakhan, recovery coach for Detroit Recovery Project Inc.; Lawerence Kenyatta, mentor, author and counselor; Demetrius Nash, community activist; the Rev. Charles Adams, co-pastor of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church; and Kevin Johnson, a therapist, case manager and behavioral specialist.
Leading up to the Black Men’s Healing Conference, rolling out will be publishing articles about each keynote speaker, asking them to share more about themselves, their professions and the importance of men’s health within the Black community.
The Detroit Recovery Project is a multi-service agency that provides a wide spectrum of support services to the city’s recovery community.
