The Center for Hope is a peer-based, non-profit recovery center for those who struggle with substance abuse in Idaho Falls. For her senior project, BYU-Idaho student Amanda Thueson is partnering with the center to help put together a community conversation on behalf of Voice Advocacy and The Center for Hope.
Thueson is a communication major at BYU-Idaho and was searching for ideas for her senior project with her mentor, Andra Hansen, a BYU-Idaho professor.
“I had asked her to be my mentor because I love Andra and I just love all the insights she has and the opportunities that she gives the students,” Thueson said. “And she actually has an organization that she has started called Voice Advocacy, which is just for the students to do volunteer work.”
After visiting The Center for Hope, Thueson says she has had the opportunity to learn stories of those who were participating in the program, which she says motivated her to learn more.
"Visiting there and learning about the stories from the people is the most inspirational thing,” Thueson said. “So just meeting those people that have gone through the most painful experiences that I could never even imagine going through, and learning about those stories is so eye opening to me just to recognize how amazing they are to be in such a tough situation and be able to overcome it.”
For her senior project, Thueson is partnering with The Center for Hope to put together what she calls a community conversation on March 19.
“And we're just inviting people around this area, like police, officers, the workforce, any sheriffs,” Thueson said. “Just those types of people that are stakeholders within the community that have the ability to give those that need help the resources and connect those that need help with the center. So, we invited those people to come, and anyone else in the community that's interested or wanting to learn about the event is welcome to come and talk about it.”
Thueson says this event will serve as a conversation starter to spread awareness of the struggles of substance abuse.
“I think that the community conversation will give a great insight to those there about the struggles that are happening in Madison County and allow these people from different areas within the county to connect and share stories and just become more aware of the opportunities that are available to help those that we love,” Thueson said.
The community conversation event will be held on March 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the event center at the Spring Hill Suites in Rexburg. For more information, you can visit the The Center for Hope website.