The Northern Kentucky chapter of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth held a Singing For Democracy of their own Sunday at Madison Avenue Christian Church. The event, which was attended by over 40 people, featured Mike Barry and Tayna Fogle as masters of ceremony, discussed the issues of voting rights for former felons, and featured regional Gospel performers.

The event was a collaboration between People Advocating Recovery and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and featured speakers from recovery programs in Lexington, Louisville, Covington, and Florence. Their stories, which dealt with their own personal relationships with addiction in their lives and the lives around them, served as a reminder of the inequities and stereotypes people who suffer from the disease face.

Each of the speakers on the program spoke about what made them become an activist on voting rights and recovery. Charlotte Wethington recounted her loss of her son Casey, and how she was able to memorialize him through working to enact reforms in drug treatment laws; Tayna Fogle told her story of not only fighting to recover, but then having to fight to get her voting rights restored twice due to a clerical error; and Kim Moore of CHANGE Recovery House for Women spoke of the difficulty of dealing with reentry for one of your children after fighting for your own recovery so hard.

Members and attendees were hopeful that Northern Kentucky politicians would take notice of the movement in Northern Kentucky, and realize the resource that many people who are in long term recovery are for the community. The organizations hope to work together again soon to continue to highlight the need to expand and protect Kentucky's democracy.

You can also find more pictures of this event on KFTC's Flickr site.