The faith-based organization Together We Hurt, Together We Heal scheduled its fifth annual banquet Tuesday to raise money to open a recovery house.

“Our goal since the beginning of this organization six years ago has been to open a recovery house,” Co-founder Mary Jean Hensley said. “We are in the process of opening one for men and one for women. Addicts generally end up burning their bridges and end up without a place to stay. Our target date for this (to open) is December.”

Together We Hurt, Together We Heal is a group of people brought together by the hurt of drugs.

“(We were) three moms who were hurting and struggling through drug addiction with their boys,” Hensley said. “(We) saw a need and couldn’t sit still.”

She said their mission is to stop the hurt in other families brought on by the illicit use of drugs.

Their plan is to use prevention, education and awareness, as well as heal the hurt already inflicted through intervention and treatment.

“We didn’t want other moms to hurt like we did.” Hensley said. “The battle cry has always been ‘doing nothing is not an option.’ We want our loved one to just quit abusing drugs. But it’s not that easy. The drugs harm the body and the brain and both require time to heal. The brain requires up to two years for that to happen.”

Reach Evans at 419-468-1117 ext. 2049 or on Twitter at @deborahevans31