It All Started With A Vision
I can only give credit to God because he gave me the strength
Wood River, IL – On Friday, March 23rd Riverbend Family Ministries opened their doors to welcome their new partner, Amare and hosted a ribbon cutting in their honor. Executive Director of RFM, Tammy Iskarous said she met Ty Bechel, Executive Director of Amare at a Madison County meeting and knew she wanted to reach out and help them grow.
“I told him afterwards, ‘If you’re serious about Amare, we will talk,’ I could feel the passion he had for families of addiction,” said Iskarous. “It’s a blessing for us to showcase what Amare has grown into over the last 3 years and the change that Ty is making in the lives of the families with addiction.”
“When I fell to my knees on August 19 2012, I was lost, my mother didn’t know what to do and asked me to leave,” said Bechel. “I was part of the Madison County Drug Court, which helped me out a lot with my addiction. And I didn’t know what to do…I was sitting in my mom’s house all alone, I looked out the window at the blue sky and I fell to my knees and starting balling.”
Bechel said he as he reflects on this day, he remembers asking out loud, “I don’t know what else to do, either help me or take me out of this world because I cannot continue like this.”
“Something changed that day when I fell to my knees, the obsession to use left and I went to detox,” said Bechel. “When I came home I started walking a lot in the morning and prayed talking with God, that’s when the idea of Amare came into my head.”
Bechel started Amare three years ago with the same vision it has today; help people full circle with addiction. They help people get treatment and help guide them on how to get their life back on track. He’s currently working on getting a scholarship started to help those recovering who want to go back to school get the opportunity to do so.
Amare’s mission is to achieve the highest standard in the involvement of the community to promote personal and public wellness. Amare will advocate, communicate and encourage change for those suffering from drug/alcohol addiction, depression, and/or suicidal tendencies along with the families and community. All of this is to happen with the most obtainable success through charitable campaigns and dedicated work so we may preserve the most precious gift – life.
For more information, contact Amare Founder, Ty Bechel at volunteer@amarenfp.org
