Nearly 700 Pounds of Litter Collected in SONO

(Norwalk, CT) – On Thursday, October 1, 2020, Liberation Programs, Inc (LPI), partnered with Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR), Ocean Recovery Community Alliance (ORCA) and Keep America Beautiful® (KAB) to clean and beautify a section of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in South Norwalk. Nearly 40 volunteers from these 4 organizations gathered to collect litter along the road to prevent it from harming the environment and ending up in our waterways.

Liberation Programs, a leading behavioral health organization in Fairfield County specializing in treatment for all types of substance use disorders including alcohol, opiates, depressants and stimulants, received a grant from KAB, in partnership with its sponsor Diageo, to implement a KAB Martin Luther King Jr. Corridor and Neighborhood Building project. Diageo and Keep America Beautiful® support the development of a strong, diverse and inclusive, vibrant, and sustainable community.

David Shockley, Norwalk’s Neighborhood Improvement Coordinator, led one group of volunteers and said, “Residents love it when we come through… you’ll be welcomed.” He also introduced Darlene Young, Program Coordinator for the City of Norwalk, who was grateful to see this project take place saying, “On behalf of the South Norwalk Community, I thank you for your efforts… to beautify this area and really bring it back to what it used to be and should be for all residents.” Volunteers were welcomed warmly in the community with many asking about the different groups involved and learning about the organizations.

John Hamilton, President & CEO of Liberation Programs, was especially excited about this event because of the partnership and team building it provided. “It is so important to be in the community and be of service to others in Recovery. How wonderful that we have such great partners in CCAR, ORCA and Keep Norwalk Beautiful.” Michael Askew, CCAR’s Director of Recovery Advocacy, added, “What we can do as a collaborative effort could be more than one person can do… we care in many different ways.”

After 2 hours of litter collection, bringing in hundreds of items including a plastic Radio Flyer Wagon and couch cushions, the group gathered to weigh the litter and send it to be disposed of with Norwalk’s DPW crew. Volunteers were thrilled to hear they had collected 693lbs of garbage, the most in a single day clean up since ORCA began.

Liberation Programs would like to thank Keep America Beautiful® and Diageo for providing the grant funding for this important project and Amber Pace and Gilead for generously providing lunch for our crew.

To learn more about Liberation Programs, please visit https://www.liberationprograms.org. To learn more about CCAR, please visit https://ccar.us. To learn more about ORCA, please visit https://ccar.us/orca-ocean-recovery-community-alliance/. To learn more about Keep Norwalk Beautiful, please visit https://norwalkct.org/1583/Neighborhood-Beautification.

Liberation Programs is one of Fairfield County’s leading behavioral health organizations specializing in treatment for all types of substance use disorders including alcohol, opiates, depressants, and stimulants. Our mission is to provide prevention, treatment, and recovery services to help individuals and their families impacted by substance use and mental health conditions to foster hope and maintain wellness.

For Media Inquiries, please contact Fiona Wilkes, Director of Development & Communications, at Fiona.wilkes@liberationprograms.org or 203-354-6918.