BHSPC sponsoring free carnival event
Jun. 22—EASLEY — The Prevention Department of Behavioral Health Services of Pickens County is throwing a party and everyone is invited.
The Bounce Back, a family-friendly carnival, will be held 10 a.m. — 2 p.m. Saturday, June 25 inside one of the gyms at the J.B. "Red" Owens Recreation Complex, 111 Walkers Way in Easley.
The drop-in event will feature games, door prizes and snacks. Door prizes are guaranteed to the first 125 in attendance.
This year's door prizes include beach bags, beach towels, beach chairs, drawstring bags, water bottles, sunglasses and ink pens.
Games available to play will include giant Jenga, giant Connect 4 and Tic-Tac-Toe.
The meaning behind The Bounce Back name is two-fold — those in recovery are bouncing back from substance use disorder and the community has a whole is still bouncing back from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Everyone is welcome at The Bounce Back but organizers hope those who are in recovery from substance use disorders and their families will attend.
The event is one way Prevention Department staff hope to help reduce the stigma that those in treatment for and recovery from substance use disorder in the community can feel. That stigma can threaten their progress.
"The Bounce Back is going to be a fun, family friendly event for the whole community," Director of Prevention Services Jessica Gibson said. "We want everyone in attendance to come and have fun but also to leave more educated about substance use disorders, treatment for those disorders and how people with substance use disorders can and do recover.
"We want people in treatment or recovery to come as one of the means of educating the community," she continued. "People with a substance use disorder are people living in your community. SUDs do not discriminate against class or race or any other factors. That's what I want the community members to leave with — a better understanding of substance use disorder as a disease that can affect anyone."
The games, giveaways and snacks inside the gym are all free but bring some money as The Nomadik Few will be selling shaved ice treats from their food truck.
The Blood Connection will be holding a blood drive in the lobby during the event and the Pickens County Library System will be sharing information about their programs and signing people up for library cards.
The Bounce Back is one of a series of free recovery-friendly events the Prevention Department is doing this year. They sponsored a Movie Night last month and a Bowling Night is scheduled for July 8 at Tri-City Lanes in Easley. Follow Behavioral Health Services of Pickens County on Facebook for updates on future events.
Organizers hope The Bounce Back will be an annual event. The first Bounce Back was held last year in Liberty and was a big success, with around 200 people attending.
The plan is to rotate the event around different locations in Pickens County each year.
