Wesley Chapel Church in Galion was full of hope Sunday evening as many people gathered for the seventh annual A Night of Hope.

The event was the first event that the founders of the group Together We Hurt, Together We Heal hosted for the community.

“Chris (Lutz), Mary Jean (Hensley), and Michelle (Henak) realized how they were feeling as the holidays were approaching and wanted to reach out to others to offer support,” said one of the group’s volunteers, Mary Jo Carle, who heads up the group’s weekly family support meetings at 6 p.m. every Thursday at the Together group’s office at 907 N. Sandusky Ave.

Henak, Lutz and Hensley founded the group to offer hope, support and healing to families struggling with drug addiction.

Hensley’s presentation during this year’s A Night of Hope focused on the face of addiction and the “HOPE,” meaning healing, optimistic for the future, praise to God and endurance over the disease.

Carle said the event was also very well attended this year.

The group is focusing on opening a transition house on the east side of Bucyrus by the end of January.

“Currently, it is being renovated to make it handicap accessible. We hope to have an open house by the end of January with the first person moving into the house in February,” Carle said.

Carle said the house will be open to four men who have completed an inpatient or outpatient treatment program, are completely committed to their recovery and are enrolled in a recovery program. The men will be required to participate in weekly meetings with a male house manager that will also live in the home and work as a mentor to the men.

“It will not be a homeless shelter and there will be no revolving door. We expect the men will need to stay between six months and a year to fully get on their feet,” Carle said.

The transitional house is being opened to assist those who would otherwise being going back into the same environment they came from before their rehabilitation.

For more information, visit http://www.twhtwh.com or call the Together We Hurt, Together We Heal organization at 419-689-6427.

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Gasuras can be reached on Twitter @kimberlygasuras

A Night of Hope and Healing was held Sunday evening in Galion. The event is sponsored very year by Together We Hurt, Together We Heal. The group will be opening a transitional house in Bucyrus in early 2016.

http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2015/12/web1_11227758_10204849213182151_5113359141765452948_n-1-.jpgA Night of Hope and Healing was held Sunday evening in Galion. The event is sponsored very year by Together We Hurt, Together We Heal. The group will be opening a transitional house in Bucyrus in early 2016.