YOUNGSTOWN — This year’s daylong Hope Conference at the Covelli Centre on Wednesday brought together more than 150 agencies and nonprofits from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties to help returning citizens and others regain their life and livelihood.

Guy Burney, executive director for the Youngstown Community Initiative to Reduce Violence, said “returning” refers to people who have been in prison, but it also sometimes even applies to people who just have a criminal record, even for traffic cases. CIRV is the event’s sponsor.

The Hope Conference helps people when they need housing or treatment or “anybody else looking for help for themselves or their families,” Burney said. It is free to attend.

The gathering is beneficial for the agencies that attend also, Burney said, because it helps them understand what other agencies offer and can help them provide better referrals, he said.

The event also allows a person to seek help from various agencies all in one place on the same day, Burney said.

“Imagine how many hours it would take to do all that if you had to travel to four different places,” Burney said. “People can come in and get information all in one day.”

CELEBRATE RECOVERY

Among the many agencies meeting people Wednesday who need help was Celebrate Recovery, a Niles Christ-centered recovery program through Grace Fellowship Church, 3425 Youngstown-Warren Road.

Their table contained handouts on a large number of topics they can help with, ranging from chemical dependency to combat-related Post Traumatic Stress to physical/sexual and emotional abuse to gambling addiction.

Celebrate Recovery’s Heather Richard said the organization is “for all hurts, habits and hangups.” It invites people to attend Fridays starting at 6 p.m. to learn what they offer, including free child care and a youth ministry while the parent is getting help for himself or herself, she said.

The program teaches on the “12 steps and the Eight Biblical Beatitudes,” she said. About a third of the people who come for help struggle with substance abuse. But many arrive to get help with issues such as self harm, PTSD, grief, anxiety or divorce, Richard said.

“We welcome you wherever you are,” she said. “I feel like a lot of people are seeking God. We’re not ashamed to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,” she said.

“We are not pushing our church. We are aiding the spiritual side of your recovery. We are a community of believers, non-believers who are not ashamed to say we have struggles.”