Five years ago, Pastor Al Robinson of Spirit of Truth Urban Ministry woke up one morning to see his idyllic church in the aptly-named Lovejoy neighborhood, desecrated.
The church installed cameras to uncover who, or what, caused the damage.
The footage showed people using heroin behind the church, and others falling into their garden beds.
“I said 'Lord, what do you want me to do about this?'" Robinson said. “In 2015 was when Lovejoy was hit with an epidemic of heroin overdoses. We led Western New York in overdoses.”
In the years since, Robinson mobilized the neighborhood to build an entire community to address the opioid epidemic — from turning the home of one of their neighbors who died by an overdose into Rebecca Rose Recovery House of WNY, to opening a dry speakeasy that fills the streets with jazz, or serving up BBQ for the soul at La Verdad Cafe Deli.
“People want to be free but they don’t know how to be free,” Robinson said. “They don’t know what pathway leads to freedom, they don’t know what road will take them there, they don’t know the first step.”
Substance use disorder is a mental illness defined by the DSM-5, the diagnosis tool used by the American Psychiatric Association as a “cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms indicating that the individual continues using the substance despite significant substance-related problems."
It’s common for those struggling with substance use to struggle with another mental health condition, often called comorbidity according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Nestled behind Spirit of Truth Urban Ministry is the Rebecca Rose Recovery House of WNY (also referred to Rebecca Rose Recovery Center of WNY), and it was the home of one of Robinson’s neighbors who died by overdose, his family blessed Robinson in the creation of the center.
It was designed to address comorbidities like depression, trauma or adverse childhood experiences — the house was painted contrasting colors, soothing music plays, there’s gardening on the premise and an outdoor space for those living there to spend time reading.
The center focuses on women between 21 to 39-years-old who have gone through detox and been clean for 90 days past detox, and gives them access to multiple therapies including New York state-certified addiction recovery coaches, family, and group therapy.
Lovejoy, the neighborhood that Pastor Al has called home for a decade, was hit hard by the opioid epidemic, and the Rebecca Rose Recovery House of WNY is just one way that the entire community has come together for a united front against this public health crisis.
A couple blocks down the street for the center is The Speakeasy, a sober bar that offers a place for those in recovery to gather with friends and family — but it is also a reminder of those that they have lost.
It was an idea birthed by a mother, Sandra Robinson who is a pastor at the Spirit of Truth Urban Ministry. Her daughter recently died due to an overdose, Robinson said.
Erie County, where Lovejoy resides in, had for years seen a decrease in overdose deaths. But since the start of the pandemic, it now is battling an uptick associated with fentanyl in the drug supply
Erie County is one of three in Western New York that have seen an increase since the start of the pandemic — stress, grief, financial worries, and isolation are fallout from the COVID-19, putting people in recovery in jeopardy of a relapse.
Robinson mulls over this worrisome trend threatening the progress that Lovejoy has made on the opioid epidemic.
But he isn’t alone, he has the backing of the entire community including his wife, Vivian Gallon-Robinson, who operates the popular BBQ restaurant La Verdad Cafe and Deli in Lovejoy, as well working at the ministry.
“We get a chance to meet people not just on a food level, but on a spiritual level as well,” she said. “People normally come in, they want to talk [and] we greet them with a smile.”
Born from wanting to create a church restaurant, Robinson boasts that his wife makes Buffalo’s best BBQ — from smoked bourbon brisket sandwiches, to jalapeño mac and cheese to kale apple coleslaw.
But those smiles brought on by BBQ and kind words were hard-won for a community that has lost so many.
“Some of these people are fighting some real demons, they’re fighting some very, very big demons and sometimes they don’t win,” he said. “Sometimes they just don’t win, they don’t win that earthly struggle.”
To learn more about the Rebecca Rose Recovery Center, visit their website.
The county offers a 24/7 addiction hotline at 716-831-7007 and you can receive free naloxone by texting 716-225-5473.
To learn more about the Erie County Opiate Epidemic Task Force, visit their website.