Women in Northern Michigan use coloring posters to raise addiction awareness after loss

NORTHERN MICHIGAN,. (WPBN/WGTU) - - Sometimes, life puts the right people together at that exact time, and when that happens, great things can follow.

A group of northern Michigan women is proof of that after experiencing loss, they have found a way over the past five years to start conversations and fight the stigma of substance use disorder one colored pencil stroke at a time.

"You grab onto every opportunity that comes your way to make a difference," said Nancy Dow, Color for Hope.

And sometimes, those opportunities come at an unexpected time and in the form of beautiful, poster sized coloring pages.

"I couldn't bear to have them be thrown away, and I didn't know what I would do with them," said Margaret Alexander, Color for Hope.

You see, years ago, Margaret's sister-in-law, the artist Susan Alexander, created 5,000 coloring posters after the substance use death of her daughter. Fast forward, Susan was moving away the posters that would stay in the basement beneath the ping-pong table without a purpose.

"The short story is that we met each other through the labyrinth walk which honors people who have passed from substance use disorders and They were collecting pop bottles at the time to get 10 cents a bottle and I said I have something else I might sell into the community that might and could we work together on this and this is how The four of us got together Diane Lauren Nancy and myself to do this," said Alexander.

What they did was take those coloring posters featuring images from around the area and turned them into a fundraiser for local addiction and treatment efforts.

"We have a lot of people as they're picking out which poster they want. They look at all the specific details on them. So as I'm coloring, it brings me back to different events we were at or different person I talked to along the way," said Lauren Reed, Color For Hope.

Over the past 5 years, they've raised a lot of money.

"So we raised just a little over $30,000 selling $8 posters. But more than anything, it was the conversations that we've had along the way and the community that supported us, the retailers, the people," said Dow.

The money raised, $8 at a time, changed and saved lives.

'We purchased hundreds of Nalox boxes that were distributed to several locations within the community, churches, the courthouse, the beta, the libraries, T-Caps, and Interlochen Center for the Arts. So, we provided all those for them. Second phase, we helped Phoenix House, which is a Diction Treatment Services, women's residential for women and children And we donated to them, and the Grand Travers Pie Company matched our donation. And the last of our fundraising, we have $10,000 left to donate. We are donating to Addiction Treatment Services Guardian of Hope Scholarship," said Dow.

When folks would see the posters for sale, questions were inevitably asked, conversations would follow, and the issue that's often hidden, wasn't anymore.

"So, reducing stigma helps save lives. It's a disease like any other and we have to talk about it so that people get the help that they need,” said Reed.

This group of women brought together through loss and concerns, became a force of change, thanks to their resolve, and these posters begging for color and completion.

"Honored, fulfilled. I'm amazed again that four people who didn't know each other have done so well together, and we've obviously developed a bond together. It just shows me so much about, again, back to people and individuals and community, that power that we have," said Alexander.

But the time has come for the remaining 1,500 posters to find a new home.

"We knew that our time with this project was coming to an end and we all felt a little bit sad about that. But then realizing that we can pass this off to somebody else to take a new role in there and hopefully raise additional awareness reach new people, it's very exciting,” said Reed.

They are offering the unfinished art up for someone else to step up and take over their mission.

"It's truly bittersweet. It really is very bittersweet for me. But knowing that there should be someone out there, or hopefully will be someone out there that will take this over and will continue the same cause, because that is one of our stipulations to whomever might want to take on color for hope, it, the fundraising has to be to help substance use disorder," said Dow.

A mother's loss led to the creation of these, a chance encounter of these women catapulted the coloring pages into a tool of change for the community, and now a new unwritten chapter for 1,500 uncolored posters awaits for someone who already knows.

"You grab onto every opportunity that comes your way to make a difference," said Dow.

Color for Hope wanted to stress how grateful they are for all the shops and businesses that let them see the posters at their locations.

They are hoping that someone else steps up and continues on with the remaining 1,500 posters.

The proceeds must go to support the original mission related to substance abuse.

For more information about the project and what they’ve accomplished, you can go HERE.