Today we’d like to introduce you to Ty Bechel.
Hi Ty, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In February 2014, I was taking an early morning walk. I was listening to Breaking Benjamin’s “Dear Agony,” and I thought to help our community by focusing on the trifecta – the individual, family, and community impacted by substance use. It was an idea to start a nonprofit organization, but I didn’t know how. I grabbed a notebook and kept my ideas to myself and a few close family members until one day, a woman that was a repeat customer of my mom was enthralled by my ambition or what my mom had told her. We coordinated a date and time to meet, and she bought me breakfast and reviewed a few ideas in my notebook. She became my first professional mentor, guiding me in establishing a nonprofit in Illinois. A few months later, Amare, a nonprofit Recovery Community Organization (RCO), was born. As a person recovering from a substance use disorder, it was vital, yet surreal, to start a community-based and grassroots organization in its efforts. I eventually got my Bachelor’s in Communication and Master’s in Nonprofit Management. Amare was an all-volunteer until July 2021, and now we have 9 paid employees, four offices, and provide evidence-based recovery support services to individuals and families.
Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been challenging along the way. Starting a nonprofit takes a lot of work, networking, collaborating, and developing trust with potential stakeholders. Being someone in early recovery at the time of developing Amare, it was often difficult to get buy-in from others unless I could get more than five minutes with them, and my jubilation and excitement grabbed their attention.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I do quite a bit today in my professional life. I am the founding Executive Director of Amare and founding board member of Renegade Gardens, a nonprofit community garden. I am a freelance journalist focusing on community-based articles and a columnist for two publications; my two columns are “Restoring the Soul” and “Beyond Parody.” The real fun for me is creatively writing while producing and hosting a podcast, Recovery Uncensored, and the spinoff live radio show, Recovery Uncensored LIVE! on 107.1 FM (Big Z Media – Alton, IL). I also speak at many events on recovery, nonprofit management and leadership, wellness, and overall health. Resiliency is found in all that I do, and finding recovery when I felt I had only a death sentence by drugs and alcohol has allowed me to prosper.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
As far as Amare is a recovery community organization (RCO), they will grow. RCOs are peer-led and grassroots, bypassing the mind-numbing corporate mentality that has plagued our nation. Human beings are more than just “employees”; they have passions, ambitions, and families, and fostering that potential and thrill in life should be extended even in the workplace. As far as radio and podcasting, radio may have seen its growth already, but podcasts are abundant today.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.myrecoverypodcast.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tybechel
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ty-a-bechel-08488baa
Image Credits
Ty Bechel
