Kari Carter’s adult daughter, Kyla, has been sober for 13 months.
But for more than a decade, she struggled to get there, and Carter saw how addiction chipped away at her life.
Carter said Kyla’s drug use led to serious health complications, including a blood infection, open heart surgery and the need for daily intravenous antibiotics.
Kyla, at one point, struggled to find a rehab facility that would accept her because she needed medical clearance first.
For 13 years, it was chaos, Carter said. Kyla’s behavior affected the whole family. Carter said after her own mother passed away last year, she realized could also lose Kyla.
“I really was like, ‘I'm getting ready to bury my daughter. I better start getting things in order,” she said.
She said she ended up having to cut her off in a way she hadn’t before — even not answering the phone or the door.
Carter said Kyla entered rehab again in August 2023, and that time was different. She was able to start healing and gaining stability. She also stayed at an Oxford House, which are supportive homes for people on their paths to recovery from alcohol and substance use. She took steps she hadn’t before, like getting a sponsor — a sober person in recovery to help be a guide — and regularly going to meetings.
Lawmakers should know how important it is to support people going through addiction so that they might see their way out, Carter said. She supports removing barriers to harm reduction methods that can save lives, like access to clean syringes or fentanyl testing strips.
“If we can do things and put things and tools in place that help them, you're going to have a better workforce, you're going to have a cleaner community,” Carter said. “You're going to bring family units back together, stop a cycle.”
Carter and her daughter will be speaking this Sunday afternoon at a bipartisan town hall in Scottsburg hosted by Hoosier Action, a group that organizes around community issues and empowers voters.
It’s a chance for community members to engage with candidates and elected officials ahead of the general election on issues that are important to them.
Indiana gubernatorial candidates Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater are expected to attend, along with Republican and Democrat state representatives, including Republican state Rep. Ed Clere, who represents most of Floyd County. Others, including Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun, were invited.
Carter said it’s important to share information with lawmakers. She also wants people to know recovery is possible.
She said, having experienced her daughter’s struggles with her, she was often frustrated at holes in support for people with addiction. She envisioned ways that could change.
“This is an opportunity to have a voice, plus an opportunity to do this with my daughter,” she said. “She's going to be speaking alongside of me, so that's a miracle in itself.”
Tracey Hutchings-Goetz, a spokesperson for Hoosier Action, said the event will give residents from across the state an opportunity to share their experiences and ask questions about important issues.
The town hall will include topics such as addiction and harm reduction, environmental issues, housing, health care and public education.
“These issues really have to do with opportunity, they have to do with care, and they have to do with freedom,” Hutchings-Goetz said. “And these were the things that we heard about over and over again from our membership.”
She said the event is about building connections between what happens at the statehouse and how that impacts real people’s lives.
Hutchings-Goetz said she expects 200-300 people, one of the largest events Hoosier Action has hosted and the largest town hall.
Jacob Jost, a former Jeffersonville resident who now lives in Columbus, Indiana, plans to attend. He said he’s experienced addiction and homelessness, so he wants lawmakers to know what people are facing, and be held accountable for their words and actions.
“I really hope that they actually listen, and if they say that they're going to do something, actually do it, instead of just saying it, just to smooth the people over for the votes,” he said.
Jost, now in recovery, recently started the nonprofit Jacob’s Journey, to help provide resources for addiction, mental health and housing.
He said events like this help people connect — so they can see they’re not alone in the hurdles they face in life. He said it’s also important for voters to stand together and tell lawmakers their priorities.
“The old saying is, ‘The squeaky wheel is the one that gets the oil,’” he said. “So the more people that show up, the more people that say, ‘Hey, this is a problem, we’re dealing with this, something needs to change,’ the more they’re going to realize, ‘If we don’t do something, that’s a lot of people we’re going to lose votes for.’”
He said the more people that stand up, the more power they have.
The Hoosier Action town hall is from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Mid-America Science Park, 821 S. Lake Rd. in Scottsburg.
Hoosier Action is organizing free transportation from New Albany, Clarksville, Columbus and Bloomington. Free on-site child care is also available.
The event is free but pre-registration is encouraged, especially for people planning to use the transportation or child care services.
Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.
