Tony L. Thornton

I’m proud to be a part of this vitally important group whose primary function is giving men and women a hand up instead of a hand out this will hopefully allow them to become productive members of society.
I became involved in this project when I realized that one of my own family members didn’t have the right to vote even though he had met all the requirements placed on him by the justice system, understanding the importance of the right of choice in a democratic representative society.
I became involved in the Faces and Voices “Recovery Voices Count”  “Get out the Vote” non partisan voter registration campaign.  In the spring of 2007 I went along with other PAR members and attended the Faces and Voices of Recovery summit and took the messaging training and spoke with Kentucky’s congressmen and senators to advocate for the mental health and addiction parity bill and discussed other legislative changes that are key to removing the stigma, discrimination and barriers that exist for people who seek to be re-integrated in to society upon attaining long term recovery within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
I’m currently working as the Executive Director of the Beacon House Aftercare Program in Louisville KY. None of these things would have been possible without the supportive, dedicated and loving members of recovery community and PAR.