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SCRANTON — Yolanda Battaglia is a spiritual person. A little over a year ago, she accompanied a family member to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Feeling pushed toward working with people in recovery, she founded the Scranton chapter of Colorado-based non-profit Young People in Recovery.

YPR Scranton will hold a kick-off event Sept. 19 at Keyser Valley Community Center to introduce itself to the community and officially open for business. Along with raffles, food and guest speakers, the event features representatives from treatment centers and community organizations. Battaglia, who holds degrees in life coaching and psychology, said YPR Scranton exists to connect those suffering with addiction to entities that will assist them in recovery. Despite it’s name, the non-profit offers its services to addicts of any age and from Northeastern Pennsylvania communities beyond Scranton, including Luzerne county.

“We are like the glue connecting all the resources in the area so that if somebody comes to us for help, we have a list where we can direct them and bring them to get the help that they need,” Battaglia said.

Over the last few months, Battaglia has curated relationships with organizations like Clearbrook Drug Rehab & Alcohol Treatment Center and TPALS (Turning Points Alternative Living Solutions). Angela Gilgallon, a recovery specialist at the latter, volunteers with YPR Scranton. As part of the professional population that works directly with addicted persons, Gilgallon sees a lack of post-treatment support for those in recovery — factors that put them back into the poisonous situations that initially contributed to addiction.

“I think the more support an individual has, the better their chances of recovery,” Gilgallon said. “I think having YPR in our area and giving people that 24/7 (support) that they are able to leave our facility and still have cheerleaders along the way. They may not have that at home, so what better place than for the local community to be involved?”

The community can get involved by donating money — Battaglia wants to offer something other organizations don’t, like bus passes or life skills classes — or by donating time at events like YPR’s kick-off. TPALS, which accepts adolescent addicts in a field where Gilgallon said “there’s a lack of adolescent treatment facilities,” will have a presence at the event. According to Gilgallon, her experiences with young addicts and the messages they receive about recovery are prevailing reasons for her volunteer work.

“The youngest person that I have had, stated that they started their drug addiction at age 11,” Gilgallon said. “That’s when they had started heroin. A lot of young people in our area are in recovery but probably four times that are still in addiction. I think right now there should be a stance. We know what addiction has caused but not a lot of people know what recovery looks like. That’s another thing that I really like about YPR is there’s a focus on recovery.”

Gilgallon said she’d rather billboards portray recovery so addicts can identify with a possible goal rather than fear-focused advertisements that won’t scare addicts away from drugs or alcohol. Battaglia said YPR Scranton’s mission is two-fold: to empower people in recovery so they can make healthy decisions and educate the general public to remove common stigmas.

“You know the stigma, it might prevent people from moving forward if they can’t get a job,” Battaliga said. “We need more employers willing to give a person in recovery a chance.”

For more information about YPR Scranton, visit Facebook.com/ScrantonPARecovery or call 570-903-8700.

From left: Young People in Recovery volunteers JoAnn Saffel, Wayne Saffel, Mark Harris, Yolanda Battaglia and Marvin McCloe at Sept. 3’s National Addiction and Recovery Benefit in Wilkes-Barre’s Kirby Park.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_ypr-photo.jpg.optimal.jpgFrom left: Young People in Recovery volunteers JoAnn Saffel, Wayne Saffel, Mark Harris, Yolanda Battaglia and Marvin McCloe at Sept. 3’s National Addiction and Recovery Benefit in Wilkes-Barre’s Kirby Park. Submitted photo
Young People in Recovery Scranton will act as ‘the glue’ between community organizations that help addicts regain control

By Gene Axton

[email protected]

IF YOU GO

What: The launch of The Scranton chapter of Young People in Recovery

When: 6 p.m. Sept. 19

Where: Keyser Valley Community Center, 101 N. Keyser Ave., Scranton

More info: Visit Facebook.com/ScrantonPARecovery or call 570-903-8700

Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6121 or on Twitter @TLArts