WILLIAMSBURG — Working closely with Faith Recovery, local resident and mother Mary Brown is encouraging businesses and golfers to come support addiction recovery in honor of her late son at an annual golf tournament slated for Sept. 22.
All proceeds benefit Faith Recovery’s clinical Christian addiction treatment program, where Brown planned to enroll her son, Ryan Taylor, before his tragic passing while residing in a sober living facility. He was 21 years old.
“This is very near and dear to us. It’s the only way to really keep his name alive,” said Brown, regarding the tournament.
The golf tournament is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 22, starting at 9:30 a.m. at Williamsburg National Golf Club. Going off a captain’s choice format, the event is open to all levels of golfers and companies wishing to participate or provide sponsorships.
Taylor, an avid skateboarder and golfer, was known for his sense of humor and heart for others — something Brown strives to reflect in her involvement with Faith Recovery. Aside from her close relationship with the recovery facility, she is currently working to make structural changes within state sober living facilities, or Oxford houses. It has been an arduous process thus far, according to Brown, but she refuses to back down.
“As long as I have breath in me, I’m going to continue to fight that fight. It’s not about Ryan anymore — it’s about every other person who thinks that they have good help out there and support but they don’t,” said Brown.
Faith Recovery, located in Williamsburg, aims to provide residents with a safe, sober, and structured living environment. Recently licensed by The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), it combines both biblical and evidence-based practices to allow residents to embrace the process of recovery and rediscover their identities outside of addiction.
“The fact that we can evolve the way we do but keep the same principles, [which is] helping people in addiction start their recovery in a faith-based element,” said Mandi Sabo, Development Director at Faith Recovery.
Their fight against addiction is more crucial now than ever before, as synthetic opioids are now the most common drugs involved in drug overdose death in the U.S., according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The tournament’s entry fee is $100 per person, or $375 for a foursome, which includes green fees, a golf cart, range balls, and lunch. Volunteers, golfers, and sponsors are still needed. While last year’s earnings from the tournament were approximately $15,000, the goal for this year is to break $25,000, all of it going towards tuition and scholarship opportunities for residents at Faith Recovery.
“There is no look to it; there is no race, religion, economic status … It’s everywhere no matter where you live and this disease does not discriminate,” said Brown, regarding addiction. “It’s an epidemic.”
Learn more about the tournament on the Remembering Ryan Taylor Facebook page and register for the tournament online.
