OUR Place (Open United Recovery)

Help Break the Cycle: Support Youth, Families & Community Healing This Holiday Season

At OUR Place, we see every day that recovery isn’t just about one person... it’s about healing entire families, creating safety for young people, breaking generational cycles, and building a community strong enough to hold one another up.

This year, more kids, teens, and families have walked through our doors than ever before.

Kids whose parents are fighting for their lives.

Teens carrying the weight of family chaos.

Parents trying to rebuild trust and stability.

Individuals determined to create a different life than the one they inherited.

This is why OUR Place exists.

We are led by people in recovery, for people in recovery — guided by one core belief:

When the community’s need grows, we grow with it.

And right now, the need is overwhelming.

We Need Your Help This December

The holidays are the hardest time of year for families impacted by addiction — and the time when community support matters most.

This fundraiser supports three critical areas of our mission.

1. PULP Youth: Teen & Young Adult Peer Support

Young people walk into OUR Place carrying anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and in many cases, a lifetime of instability.

Every Friday night, they find something different here — a place they belong, adults who show up consistently, peers who understand what it’s like to grow up around addiction, structure, support, and community.

James leads Teen & Young Adult Night with compassion, humor, and steady guidance — sometimes the first time these young people have experienced all three together.

Your support helps us provide field trips, creative activities, journaling and mindfulness tools, group projects, holiday events, positive memories, and stability.

2. Holiday Support for Kids & Families

For some families, this is their first Christmas sober.

For others, their first Christmas reunited.

For many, their first Christmas without someone they loved.

This year we are hosting Santa Night, where children select toys and experience joy again; “A Christmas Story” Teen Night; a Sober New Year’s Celebration; and winter outreach for struggling families.

These moments matter.

They help parents feel like they’re building something good.

They help kids experience holiday magic without fear.

They help teens feel seen, included, and supported.

They help people in early recovery create new, healthy memories.

3. Year-End Stability & Our Next Chapter

As a peer-led nonprofit, December is always tight.

We rely on grant cycles — and right now, we are between disbursements while serving more people than ever.

Your contribution helps us keep OUR Place open seven days a week, continue youth programming, provide peer support, offer harm reduction, maintain a safe and warm environment, cover essential operational costs, and step boldly into our next chapter of growth.

And yes... something big is ahead.

We can’t share full details quite yet, but we are preparing for something transformative that will expand healing, wellness, and community connection in a way Portage County has never seen.

Your support today strengthens the foundation we are building.

Why Your Gift Matters

We are a grassroots, peer-led organization.

We do not have corporate backing or wealthy foundations funding our work.

We depend on the kindness, generosity, and belief of people who care about recovery, youth, and families.

When you give, you help kids grow up safer.

You help parents break generational trauma.

You help teens find connection in a positive environment.

You help families rebuild.

You help individuals find hope.

You help the whole community rise together.

You are not donating to a program, you are investing in real people, real lives, real transformation.

⭐ Suggested Donation Levels

$10 — A warm meal for a young person

$25 — Holiday gifts for a child

$50 — Teen Night activities

$100 — A youth field trip

$250 — Sponsor Santa Night or Sober New Year’s

$500–$1,000 — Support OUR Place’s year-end stability and next chapter

Every dollar truly matters.

If You Believe In…

Second chances, breaking cycles, helping kids feel safe, supporting families in recovery, creating hope and healing…

Then this is your chance to make a big impact.

Thank you for helping OUR Place bring light to youth and families this holiday season and for helping us build the future our community deserves.

With gratitude,

Jessika Easterling & the OUR Place community

Founding Executive Director, Open United Recovery Place

Hi, I'm Jess, Founding Director of OUR Place (Open United Recovery) and a person in long-term recovery. As someone who experienced recovery before OUR Place existed, I know firsthand the incredible challenges individuals face on their journey. That's why I established this compassionate community organization– to offer the support, resources, and understanding I wish I had during my own recovery.

Currently, OUR Place faces a critical deficit in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, and without your support, this shortage could shut down vital programs that have transformed the lives of countless individuals, including many of our dedicated volunteers and team members. They often share how OUR Place has been more than just a resource – it's been a lifeline, a second chance, and a true sanctuary.

Here's why OUR Place matters:

Imagine a Portage County where:

Individuals struggling with addiction and mental illness are left alone, isolated, and without the support they need.

The path to recovery becomes even more difficult, with limited access to resources and community.

Hope dwindles, replaced by despair and a sense of hopelessness.

We cannot let this happen.

Every donation, big or small, makes a difference. It allows us to continue providing:

Please, donate today and help us keep OUR Place, an essential beacon of hope in our community open. Together, we can ensure that no one in Portage County walks in darkness alone.

Together, we can make a difference!

P.S. Share this campaign with your friends and family. Every share helps us reach more people and raise the critical funds we need.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Jess Easterling

Founding Executive Director, OUR Place (Open United Recovery)