Doors Open, Voices Heard: Special Holiday Message from Eli Bouldin-Clopton, Executive Director. Plus: supporting your mental health during the holidays, On Our Own in the news, and more: December 2025 Newsletter
A Special Holiday Message
from our Executive Director, Eli Bouldin-Clopton
As 2025 draws to a close, we are reminded that real change begins with people who care, and this community has shown, again and again, what is possible when compassion meets action.
This year, because of your belief in our mission, doors were opened, voices were heard, and hope reached places it might not have otherwise. Each life touched represents more than a moment of support; it reflects a shared commitment to dignity, opportunity, and a brighter future for all.
The holiday season invites us to pause and reflect on the light we bring to one another. Even in challenging times, your generosity, perseverance, and heart for this work have been a steady source of that light in our community.
As we look ahead to the new year, we do so with gratitude for how far we’ve come and inspiration for what lies ahead. Together, we will continue to build a recovery community, deepen our impact, and create lasting change.
Thank you for being part of this journey and for believing in the power of community. Our members and guests, staff, board, supporters and donors work together, and we are filled with gratitude for the contributions each has made.
Wishing you a season filled with hope, peace, and renewed purpose, and a New Year full of possibility.
With gratitude,
Eli Bouldin-Clopton,
Executive Director
“DOORS WERE OPENED,
VOICES WERE HEARD.”
A Vocabulary of Connection and Community:
FROM NAMI:
"Mental health heavily influences our quality of life. So it makes sense that mental health, just like physical health, needs to be taken care of and maintained. And one way that it can be maintained is through finding a sense of community.
Community can be defined in many ways, but when simplified down to its most important element, community is all about connection. Community is not just an entity or a group of people, it’s a feeling. It’s feeling connected to others, feeling accepted for who you are and feeling supported. Having connection can help us feel wanted and loved."
We spent some time looking at this "Vocabulary of Connection and Community" to help understand how important it is to connect and how we can support ourselves and our peer community. Have some additional words or ideas about what to add? Send an email to nina@onourowncville.org. We'll post about it on our social media!
Belonging
If you’ve ever felt like you don’t fit in, you know it can be a lonely experience. Community provides a sense of belonging — a group you identify as being a part of. This is different than conforming to be in a group. A true sense of belonging includes the ability for you to feel you are a part of the community as your true self. There is not anything you have to change to be a part of the community, but instead, you are embraced and appreciated for your unique qualities.
Support
Who do you turn to when you need something? Having people you can call on when you need to talk or need help with something can help you through difficult situations that might feel insurmountable alone. Knowing there are people who support you can help you feel cared for and safe, and can benefit your outlook on life.
Purpose
In community, people fill different roles. Perhaps you’re the friend who enjoys cooking and can be counted on to bring a hot meal over when someone is going through something. Or you’re the friend who others know they can call when they need to talk about their struggles. These roles can give you a sense of purpose through bettering other people’s lives. Having purpose, and helping others, helps give meaning to life.
Interests
What do you like to do? Perhaps you enjoy reading and could try joining a book club. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to try soccer and could try joining a team. The possibilities are endless, and you might find it easier to connect with others while doing activities you enjoy.
Values
What are your values? This category could include charities or volunteer work. Being of service is rewarding, and you can connect with others who have similar values or care about the same causes as you. A big part of building your community is giving back to each other, and finding volunteer work is a great way to start.
Beliefs
What do you believe in? If you connect with a spiritual practice or religion, try going to a speaking engagement, introductory class or service. Or if a political cause speaks to you, you can join a group that works toward a goal that’s meaningful to you. Connecting with something bigger than you is another helpful way to broaden your community.
"Each of us can start now, in our own lives, by strengthening our connections and relationships. Our individual relationships are an untapped resource—a source of healing hiding in plain sight. They can help us live healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled lives.
Answer that phone call from a friend. Make time to share a meal. Listen without the distraction of your phone. Perform an act of service. Express yourself authentically. The keys to human connection are simple, but extraordinarily powerful."
Dr. Vivek H. Murthy
19th and 21st Surgeon General of the United States
Read more about Dr. Murthy's call to action for connection!
Supporting your mental health during the holidays from SAMHSA.
FROM ON OUR OWN'S ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, JENNI KITCHEN:
"The holidays have a way of shining a light on the people who are missing. For many of us, this season brings both warmth and heartache. There are moments filled with celebrations, but also quiet spaces where grief settles beside us. Grief doesn’t take a holiday, and it doesn’t follow a tidy timeline. It becomes part of who we are, especially when the losses are deep, unexpected, or tied to the people we thought we would grow old alongside.
This year as I move through the season, I carry the loss of my sister, who died in 2004 at just 15 years old. I carry with me the loss of my Pawpaw, the strongest male role model I had in my life and my first best friend. I also carry with me the loss of a 20+ year long marriage that has come to an end. In the absence of people I once counted on spending time with during the holidays I feel their loss in familiar songs, favorite decorations, rituals we celebrated for years, even a tin of old fashioned hard candy.
Yet even in that grief, there is love. There is memory. There is a connection. And in that place, there is room to build something new.
Holiday traditions can anchor us, but they can also be reimagined when life changes. If this season feels different for you too, perhaps it is an opportunity to give yourself permission to create new traditions, ones that honor the past while making space for healing:
· Light a candle or set a place of remembrance for the person you’re missing. A quiet ritual can bring comfort without asking too much of you.
· Share stories. Funny, meaningful, and even messy stories. Keeping the memory of my loved ones alive often brings its own kind of celebration.
· Surround yourself with the people who bring you ease, not obligation. Love, even when quieter or smaller than before, is still love.
Grief doesn’t erase the joy of the holidays but likewise joy doesn’t erase grief. There is space for both. And in that space we can continue to grow. We can grow to honor the people we have lost and to cherish the love that remains.
If this season is tender for you, please know that you are not alone. My hope is that you feel supported, seen, and held by the memories that shaped you and the connections that continue to nurture you and carry you forward.
May new traditions bring moments of peace, and may love, past and present, guide you gently into the new year."
Jenni Kitchen
