After losing their son to a heroin overdose in 2012, Lisa Bright says she and her husband Bill had a choice. 

“We could just be bitter and angry, or we could try to make a difference,” she said. They chose the latter. 

A few years later, they founded the Will Bright Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing extra steps in the addiction recovery process from which their son might have benefited, had it existed then. Through all private donations, the foundation has now established Restoration Springs, a center in Fayette, Alabama, which gives people struggling with addiction a more realistic bridge back into normal life. 

“We’re gonna have to change the philosophy of the way people think about pain,” Bill Bright said. The Brights are expanding their mission into battling the Opioid Crisis nationwide by recently traveling to Washington, D.C. to share their story with lawmakers. They hope that legislation can aid in changing the mentality about drugs and painkillers to make more non-addictive options available.

At Resoration Springs, recovering addicts will have the chance to hold jobs and recover in more ways than are offered at a typical recovery center. The Brights feel that while recovery centers are important and needed, there are often extra steps towards recovery that can’t be found at the end of most programs. 

“I always like to take things that they’re a blessing,” Lisa Bright said. “It’s allowed us to have a platform to help others. Not just our foundation but to help other people that are in the same walk as we are to try to help those that are struggling with addiction.”

To learn more about the Will Bright Foundation, visit their website by clicking here.