Mother and 27-year-old son share journey of son's recovery from alcohol and drug abuse

Jennifer Hope says her son's alcohol and substance use left her feeling like she couldn't reach out to anyone for help.

To wrap up mental health recovery month, a mother and son share their journey together about his recovery from addiction.

Fox 55 's mallory beard is live at sweetwater sound where the duo held a recovery event for the community just last weekend.

Mallory?at sweet water sound mother son duo put on event called recovery rocks last saturday mother jennifer hope talked about local nonprofit: "mom of an addict" helping parents with kids who abuse substances and have mental illnesses.wrap up mental health recovery month for september "...when i realized that we were dealing with something really bad, and something that wasn't just going to go awau...i felt distraught..."

Jennifer hope says her son's alcohol and drug abuse left her feeling like she couldn't reach out to anyone/family or friends for help.jennifer hope//jake's mother "i didn't want to be judged.

I didn't want them to think bad things about my family...i didn't want them to judge jake.after battling alcohol and substances since age sixteen, jennifer's son jake now attends west virginia university almost a decade later.

The mother son duo hosted 'recovery rocks' last weekend' at sweetwater sound to honor mental health recovery month.

Jake burgess//jennifer's son"it was hard for both of us and i'll never understand what it was like to be her...but i'm so happy that we're able be on this side of it toghether."

After moving from home to home, jake knew he had to reach out for help.

He now works at jacob's ladder where he went to long term care for six months.

Jake burgess//jennifer's son"i would use because i was depressed and then i was depressed because i would use and continuously gave up opportunities and pushed my family away."local mental health of america's lisa smith says one in five people suffer from a mental health condition and twenty one million people suffer from an addiction in the united states.

Lisa smith//mental health america nei, executive director"we want to help people connect with resources but we also want to give them tools."

She says mental health america can provide tools and education to help someone suffering, but they encourage family and friends to get on board too.

Lisa smith//mental health america nei, executive director "but also their loved ones.

That's really important that someone feels supported and that really leads to hope."

Hope says communication was a huge barrier between she and her son.

Jennifer hope//jake's mother "...because i was his mom, and like most moms i thought i knew what was best."

But hope says jake chose to recover.

Jennifer hope//jake's mother "but at the end of the day, we can't control what they're goiing to do, but we can learn to find our joy again despite the circumstances that are going on around us."

Now jake mentioned something special: that recovery is possible, but it's an ongoing process.

The mom of an addict group meets every tuesday night at six thirty at the chapel.

You can find more information about it on our website at w-f-f-t dot com.

Reporting live in fort wayne i'm mallory beard fox