‘Road to Recovery’ sparks mental health evolution

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A Minnesota man is in the middle of a 3-hundred-and-7-mile walk to honor those lost to addiction and mental health issues.

Jason Lennox is the founder of a mental health awareness campaign called “The Recovery Road.”

Lennox, who started the campaign after going through his own struggles, walked through West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and stopped in Chattanooga.

But he wasn’t alone on the journey. Everson Griffin, a former NFL player for the Minnesota Vikings, joined him. Jason tells me that the route he took has meaning and has symbolism as well.

“So the symbolism there is not something I anticipated, but just thinking about the Recovery Road as we’re walking it, physical recovery road, and then what recovery looked like. Gosh, it just couldn’t have been more timely and more perfectly kind of expressed by this journey, said Jason Lennox, Recovery Champion, Entrepreneur.”

“I learned a lot on this trip. You know, we we had, we had our ups and downs, you know, our battles, you know, out there on the road, you know, trying to get the miles, trying to fight for the people that are, you know, that battle with us. And, you know, I learned a lot about myself. And the number one thing I learned is that, you know, you got to listen more, said Everson Griffin, former NFL player, Minnesota Vikings.”

One message that was clear for both Jason and Everson was the concept of understanding that the “physical” road can have both literal and metaphorical meanings.

I asked them to describe what the “road to recovery” was like for them.

“So it’s lonely, it’s dirty, it’s chaotic, it’s loud, it’s boring. It’s monotonous. Every once in a while, there’s somebody who seems to reach out a hand and give us a triple honk, as I reflected on the other day. And you know, that’s a sign of, you know, we’re cheering for you. But for the most part, it’s just again, facing the headwinds. And that’s early recovery, said Jason Lennox, Recovery Champion, Entrepreneur.”

“When the road gets narrow, you gotta, you gotta have laser focus, and when the road gets wide open, it’s your time to shine. So in life, in life, you’re gonna have, you have pivotal moments where the road gets super narrow and you’re gonna have to, you have to put on laser beam focus, and then when it’s wide open for you now, you got a little freedom to go out there and have some fun, said Everson Griffin, former NFL player, Minnesota Vikings.”

Lennox will be speaking at the Invest Behavioral Conference in Nashville on October 22nd.

He says he will advocate for more resources and funding for those struggling with addiction and mental health.