YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – When Deon Reed, a recovering addict, found out he was getting a new liver, he had all but given up. Then he realized what a miracle it was.
“I accepted death, but I’m so grateful to be here,” Reed, one of the graduates of Flying High’s Professional Development Center, said during a ceremony Thursday.
Doctors had told his mother he was going to die, Reed said. Then he got the call that a liver was available.
He remembers coming out from under anesthesia following the surgery and the nurse telling him how lucky he was because there were 1,000 people waiting on that one liver.
“He gave it to me … God made sure that happened, and I asked myself, I said, ‘Why me?’” Reed said. “Now today I stand here, and I understand the assignment, and it’s to deliver the message of hope, the innate message that an addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use and find a new way to live.”
Reed, who has been clean since April 3, 2022, was one of the graduates who had perfect attendance in the Chemical Dependency Counseling Assistant program. He and others who accepted their certificates hope to use their experiences and what they learned to help others.
Tanicqwa Wilkerson, another CDCA graduate, said she made many attempts over the years to change, but nothing happened.
“It wasn’t until I came to Flying High that I really started to see doors opening and a light at the end of the tunnel,” Wilkerson said. “They [weren’t] just here for me. They are here for you. They are here for the community. They [are] doing some really good work for us, and I’m so very grateful to be here.”
Though the journey wasn’t easy for Wilkerson or many of the other program participants, Wilkerson said she now has an opportunity to give back to the community, which she took so much from through the years.
“It was worth giving up my old life for what I want my new life to be,” Wilkerson said.
Flying High programs also include certified nursing assistant, carpentry, welding and advanced welding, giving brighter futures to those who may have struggled with addiction or returned from prison.
Justina Bundy, a welding program graduate, was not just celebrating her completion of the Flying High program. She announced that she was also being sworn into the local pipefitters union.
“I’m so grateful for my friend Dana [who] encouraged me to come to Flying High and to chase after my dreams,” Bundy said.
Another graduate, Seth Warren, thanked his mom and sister for attending his graduation. They were among a roomful of family and friends, many of whom got up and relayed stories of how much their graduates went through and how proud they were of them.
“Little over a year ago, I was a dirtball, gutter junkie, man,” Warren said, “and now I get to keep my hands dirty and my nose clean.”
Jeffrey Magada, Flying High’s founder and director, presented the Eagle Award to Brenda Heidinger, associate director of the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board. The board is one of the organizations that partners with Flying High to provide services.
In addition to the three Professional Development Centers in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana County, Flying High also offers nutrition-assisted alcohol and drug treatment, the Eagle’s Nest Recovery Houses, GROW Urban Farms workforce development and GED assistance.
Pictured at top: Deon Reed speaks at Flying High’s Professional Development Center graduation.