Gathering with family during the holidays can be lovely for so many, but if you or someone you know is facing addiction or in recovery, you probably already understand how challenging this time can be.
A national initiative called Recovery Cards Project is intended to offer hope to those who may be struggling.
Multimedia artist Madison Magor, who has faced addiction in her own life, is one of the artists creating cards that anyone across the country can download for free.
"I really started creating art with the intention of, you know, breaking stigma for addiction and substance use and really creating like thought-provoking images and art pieces about harm reduction," Magor said.
The initiative was started by Colorado Behavioral Health Administration. Charlotte Whitney is the deputy director of communications.
"They have a very visceral emotional reaction because they're not used to seeing such support for them in their experience," Whitney said.
Magor says she felt very isolated dealing with substance use and mental health as a young adult, but she was able to come out of it thanks to support from loved ones.
"I found some trusting adults and some other really good friends who basically looked at me and they were like, 'hey, no matter what you're going through, we got you, we believe in you, we believe that you can recover and like create a new life for yourself,'" Magor said.
Now she wants other people facing something similar to know the past is behind them, and the future is whatever they want it to be. That message was the inspiration behind her card designs this year.
"Both of them have some images of like a rear view mirror," Magor said. "And they're basically saying like, 'look how far you've come' both in English and in Spanish. There's a quote that I really like that says, 'the windshield is bigger than the rear view mirror for a reason.'"
If you want to show some love and compassion this holiday season, but have struggled with what to say to a person facing addiction or in recovery, download a free version of a card here.
