INDIANAPOLIS— “This is the last one I had painted before I left,” said Derrick Wilson.
Wilson is flipping through pictures of his artwork. He brought the portfolio with him when he first started at Turning Point Recovery Center.
“I came in on May 8,” said Wilson.
“Turning point is a residential treatment program for men with substance abuse issues,” said Westin Williamson, the program director.
The program is offered through Volunteers of America Ohio and Indiana.
“Just enough time to hopefully get them the documents necessary to get birth certificates, ID, social security card, without those, it’s really hard to do all the other functions in life,” said Williamson.
Wilson came to the program after being incarcerated. He also struggled with addiction, but in the beginning of June graduated from the program.
“It’s a sense of accomplishment, something I’ve never been able to do in my life before,” said Wilson.
One of the things that helps him in recovery is painting.
“It’s a peace. When I’m painting, I’m nowhere else, nothing else matters,” said Wilson.
His love for art is how a Pacer mural came to be in the office. An idea sparked by the Pacers' run through the NBA Finals.
"When a client demonstrates they have an interest in something, we like to get those things in front of them so they can do the thing they like to do. I knew getting some paint in Derrick's hand would help potentially while he was here with stress, anxiety,” said Williamson.
Wilson remembers the Reggie Days.
“Reggie was always my idol as a basketball player,” said Wilson.
Wilson now draws parallels from painting the Pacers’ logo at this time in his life.
“Back then, I was a sober teen,” said Wilson. “Here I am at sobriety again, and I’m painting a Pacers logo, supporting the Pacers. It means a lot.”
