Dear Friends,

This holiday season, military families will be adjusting to the end of the 20-year war in Afghanistan, a second year of the coronavirus pandemic, and an unstable global economy. And like these military families, civilian families are realizing the need for more mental health resources. Resources that can help to diagnose and treat alcohol and drug addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders.

With your help we can ensure that our fellow Texas veterans and their families have access to highquality psychotherapy that can be delivered in person or via telehealth. For 75 years, donors like you have been providing drug and alcohol treatment for free or at subsidized rates.

It’s why Purple Heart recipient, Angel Ayala, wants the community to know that Recovery Resource Council is a valuable resource for veterans needing accessible therapy for their kids or spouse, help with housing, or outpatient treatment.

“Angel” to his friends and “Airman Ayala” while serving enlisted soon after high school. He was raised in Arlington, Texas, by a Puerto Rican father who pushed his children to succeed and a family with prior Air Force service. On June 25, 1996, Angel was severely injured in the Khobar Tower Bombing in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. His life was changed forever.

Today, Angel has fourteen years of sobriety but the time after the Khobar Bombing until 2007 was difficult. It was a time Angel spent drinking to self-medicate what he eventually learned was Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He sought addiction treatment only once he realized that not doing so would mean death.

The holidays can be especially hard and to those newly sober, Angel says, “Don’t forget the reason you went into recovery to begin with.” Angel joined Recovery Resource Council four years ago as a master’s level veteran counsellor and found that he was able to meet his clients where they were because he could relate. He continues because of the hope he sees in his clients’ eyes.

But Angel hasn’t stopped there. He is also a donor and a Friends of the Council Giving Society member. Angel is a donor because he has “firsthand knowledge about how much good RRC does in the community” and he’s seen that “from the inside of the agency, from that vantage point.”

We’re asking you to join Angel and make a tax-deductible gift before December 31 to ensure civilian and military families alike can have a safe, sober, and peaceful holiday season.

Happy holidays,

Eric Niedermayer, CEO
Maureen Maidlow, Board Chair
Stephen Taylor, Board Mission Advancement Chair

Get Help Now

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction or mental health issues please call or email us via the online form. Services are offered virtually and in person free of charge or at a low cost. Recovery Resource Council is Joint Commission Accredited.