BILLINGS — A wave of purple shirts and emotional testimony filled the streets of downtown Billings on Saturday, as the 26th annual March Against Drugs and Violence brought together hundreds in a powerful display of community and hope.
Listen to the stories of recovery and remembrance from the March Against Drugs and Violence in downtown Billings:
Held on the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn, the event serves as both a rallying cry against substance abuse and violence and a light for those navigating recovery to find resources.
"I wasn't born an addict and I wasn't born a criminal, but unfortunately, that is the life that drugs and violence takes, and that's the end of the road usually for most of us,” said speaker Mina Crenshaw.
But for Crenshaw, it wasn't the end. After cycling through institutions and addiction, she is now three years sober. She credits her turning point to a moment of surrender inside the Yellowstone County Detention Facility, and she began her journey with a 12-step program. Crenshaw now dedicates her life to reform, and shared her journey to healing for the second time at the march to help others find the same.
“I found recovery and I dedicate my life to systemic change of how we treat the offender, who is also an addict, and the cycle of addiction and violence and how that starts," said Crenshaw. "People can recover and people can change."
The annual event began 26 years ago, started by state Sen. Mike Yakawich after a teenager was shot in his neighborhood. The march started out small but has grown in size over the years, but the mission to remind others that the solution to drug abuse and violence starts with the community has stayed the same.
“Billings is showing Billings that there are great people out here wanting to take a stand against drugs and violence. And we should not always just accentuate the negative,” said Yakawich. "It's really a proactive, positive prevention program, and that's where Billings is going. It's going to a new level of good health and good well-being.”
Related: March Against Drugs & Violence brings hope and encouragement to Billings
More than 300 T-shirts were distributed, alongside free barbecue, prizes, and outreach resources. After speeches were made, the march weaved through downtown and briefly joined the crowd at the Strawberry Festival.
“The community support that we get for this event is just so awesome. It's grown over the years and I can't believe that it's been 26 years now for this walk," said long-time attendee John Malin. "I've been coming off and on for the last 20 years. Me and my brother used to come down and help Mike set up for it."
The event also spotlighted stories from people still beginning their recovery journeys, like Ilene Upshaw. She has been incarcerated for 10 years and in and out of treatment centers, but now has been on a journey to get clean as a member of the culinary program at Passages.
"I'm usually the one that gets in trouble a lot, fighting a lot, and I haven't done that this whole round. I haven't gotten any trouble. I've worked a clean program, and they say that I've changed, and it just feels really nice to be here and recognize what I'm doing,” said Upshaw.
Upshaw said she was overcome with emotion when she was selected to be a speaker at the march to share her journey and the impact addiction can have on children. Both of her parents passed away from their addictions.
“If you knew me and everything I've been through and where I used to be, it's nothing how I am today," said Upshaw. “I literally came from nothing, and I'm here today, and I hope it reaches out to everybody that is out there struggling, everybody that don't have that hope, and I hope it reaches out to them because if I can do it, they can do it.”
Numerous organizations, including Tumbleweed, Boys and Girls Club, STEP, Rimrock Foundation, and Alternatives, were in attendance to offer resources.
The event’s emcee and director of the Boys and Girls Club’s downtown and southside programs, Nick Enslow, whose organization has been a longtime sponsor of the march, has seen positive outcomes from the visibility of the event.
"I think everybody can kind of think about it, everybody can talk about it, everybody can be understanding ... but until that first person, that first group comes out and says, 'Hey, we're gonna stand up against it, we're gonna do what we can to make sure and support people who are working to make our communities better,' that people don't feel like they can take that action," said Enslow. “We just want people to be aware of resources within the community that they can find for recovery as well as approaches for nonviolence."
Even as there is hope, tragedy can still cast a shadow. Just last week, 37-year-old Kari Daily was killed in an alleged domestic violence incident in her home on July 4.
“She was almost done with her schooling to be an addictions counselor. She just wanted to make the world a better place, and we lost so much when we lost Kari Daily," said Sharee Byrne. "She's more than a victim. She was the best person I knew.”
Related: After Billings July 4 murder, YWCA highlights resources for domestic-violence victims
Byrne was a close friend of Daily's, even having a trip planned together with their families at the end of the month. She and her family attended the march to honor Daily's legacy and ensure that her story is not reduced to a headline.
“When these kinds of things happen and they ripple through the community, you know, you hear like, 'Oh, there was a murder. There was a murder,' but the reality is like news comes and goes, right? And people are going to forget there's a murder if there's going to be a new murder," said Byrne, holding a photo of Daily. "But to me, this is a woman. This was a woman and her name was Kari, and she was wonderful and lovely and she's going to be remembered for more than the way she died. She's going to be remembered for the light she brought to the world and for how much she gave to everyone around her."
For the participants and others still fighting, the march is a declaration of hope and a promise that these problems are never faced alone.
“In a lot of respects, it's embarrassing putting my story out there for everybody to see. It's not my finest moment," said Crenshaw. "But at the end of the day, it makes it worth it, because this is not all for nothing. If I can use my story to impact another person, ... then it wasn't not for nothing.”
