Son’s recovery leads nonprofit to help others

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CIF-COM-0901-Documentary2

By Mark Ambrogi

Having seen her own son battle heroin addiction, Gina Bardach was compelled to get into the front lines of the battle.

Bardach
Bardach

Bardach discovered her son Brandon Villa, a former Fishers High School student, had become addicted to heroin terribly while at Indiana University. Villa was sent to California to get clean in April 2013 and has been living in recovery. Bardach said her son was clean for more than a year when she started the group.

“At first I wanted to put it behind us but I was afraid he’d relapsed,” Bardach said. “I also knew that his friends continued to die.”

By Sept. 26 of 2014, he had lost 16 friends due to drug overdose. Bardach said these were friends he played sports with or were classmates. Bardach said she lost three friends in one week from Fishers and Noblesville in the summer of 2013.

“I knew I couldn’t stay silent,” Bardach said

So Bardach founded Hope and OVERcoming in the fall of November 2014. The nonprofit is dedicated to helping provide awareness of heroin and opioid use and creating an atmosphere of hope and recovery for those suffering from the disease of addiction through support groups, 12-step meetings, recovery coaches and faith-based ministry outreach and advocacy. All services are free.

“Brandon has been very instrumental, vocal and willing to share his story to help others,” Bardach said.

Group to host documentary

Hope and OVERcoming, parenting with Indiana Addiction Issues, will hold a screening of the documentary “The Anonymous People” at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the Community Center, 9091 East 131st St., Fishers. The film is about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs.

Hope and OVERcoming is partnering with Indiana Addiction Issues Coalition to present the documentary, which is told through leaders, volunteers, corporate executives, and celebrities who share their stories to try to help others.

“Eighty percent of all people incarcerated are incarcerated because of addition or to support their addiction,” Bardach said. “Here in Hamilton County we’ve had an increase in home invasions and robbery. There are more car accidents now due to people under the influence of narcotics than there are for drunk driving. There are more people dying from overdose every year than there are from traffic fatalities. We have a big epidemic. This whole documentary is actually inside court rooms, inside AA meetings and inside jails talking to people. It’s quite amazing.”

Bardach said a high school student from Fishers will speak about her mother’s addiction and how it affected the family. Bardach said law enforcement officials will speak of the growing epidemic of heroin use.

There will be a demonstration of Naloxone (Narcan), an antidote that reverses an overdose. It is being used by Hamilton County paramedics. Bardach said it is a prescription that can be obtained though a doctor and can be carried in a purse and medical cabinets. Bardach said her son testified at the Indiana State House to help Sen. Jim Merritt get a bill written in to law called Aaron’s Law. Gov. Mike Pence signed the bill into law on April 17. The law is named for Aaron Sims, a former Lawrence North High School football player who died of an overdose in 2013.


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Son’s recovery leads nonprofit to help others

0

CIF-COM-0901-Documentary2

By Mark Ambrogi

Having seen her own son battle heroin addiction, Gina Bardach was compelled to get into the front lines of the battle.

Bardach
Bardach

Bardach discovered her son Brandon Villa, a former Fishers High School student, had become addicted to heroin terribly while at Indiana University. Villa was sent to California to get clean in April 2013 and has been living in recovery. Bardach said her son was clean for more than a year when she started the group.

“At first I wanted to put it behind us but I was afraid he’d relapsed,” Bardach said. “I also knew that his friends continued to die.”

By Sept. 26 of 2014, he had lost 16 friends due to drug overdose. Bardach said these were friends he played sports with or were classmates. Bardach said she lost three friends in one week from Fishers and Noblesville in the summer of 2013.

“I knew I couldn’t stay silent,” Bardach said

So Bardach founded Hope and OVERcoming in the fall of November 2014. The nonprofit is dedicated to helping provide awareness of heroin and opioid use and creating an atmosphere of hope and recovery for those suffering from the disease of addiction through support groups, 12-step meetings, recovery coaches and faith-based ministry outreach and advocacy. All services are free.

“Brandon has been very instrumental, vocal and willing to share his story to help others,” Bardach said.

Group to host documentary

Hope and OVERcoming, parenting with Indiana Addiction Issues, will hold a screening of the documentary “The Anonymous People” at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the Community Center, 9091 East 131st St., Fishers. The film is about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs.

Hope and OVERcoming is partnering with Indiana Addiction Issues Coalition to present the documentary, which is told through leaders, volunteers, corporate executives, and celebrities who share their stories to try to help others.

“Eighty percent of all people incarcerated are incarcerated because of addition or to support their addiction,” Bardach said. “Here in Hamilton County we’ve had an increase in home invasions and robbery. There are more car accidents now due to people under the influence of narcotics than there are for drunk driving. There are more people dying from overdose every year than there are from traffic fatalities. We have a big epidemic. This whole documentary is actually inside court rooms, inside AA meetings and inside jails talking to people. It’s quite amazing.”

Bardach said a high school student from Fishers will speak about her mother’s addiction and how it affected the family. Bardach said law enforcement officials will speak of the growing epidemic of heroin use.

There will be a demonstration of Naloxone (Narcan), an antidote that reverses an overdose. It is being used by Hamilton County paramedics. Bardach said it is a prescription that can be obtained though a doctor and can be carried in a purse and medical cabinets. Bardach said her son testified at the Indiana State House to help Sen. Jim Merritt get a bill written in to law called Aaron’s Law. Gov. Mike Pence signed the bill into law on April 17. The law is named for Aaron Sims, a former Lawrence North High School football player who died of an overdose in 2013.


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By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
Share.

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Stay CURRENT with our daily newsletter (M-F) and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox for free!

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By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact