MoNetwork

HMMMMMM.. 🤔🤔 Did you know!?

Trivia Night is just SIX WEEKS AWAY and we need your help to make it a success! ✨

MoNetwork is seeking event sponsors, silent auction donations and trivia teams for our upcoming Trivia Night!

This annual fundraiser helps us continue providing free recovery support, outreach, education and lifesaving resources to people throughout our community.

Whether you’re a local business looking to support a great cause or a group of friends looking for a fun night out, there’s a way for everyone to get involved!

🎉 Become a Sponsor
Sponsorship opportunities are available from $100–$1,000, with recognition at the event and throughout our event promotions.

🧺 Donate a Silent Auction Item
Gift baskets, gift cards, experiences, services, and unique items are all welcome!

🤓 Reserve a Table
Gather your coworkers, family, or friends and put your trivia knowledge to the test while supporting a cause that makes a real difference in our community.

Every dollar raised helps us continue meeting people where they are with compassion, dignity, and hope.

💙 Interested in sponsoring, donating an auction item, or reserving a table?

📞 Contact Kathi at 315-705-0969 or send us a message. We’d love to partner with you!

Come for the trivia. Stay for the community. Leave knowing you helped make recovery more accessible for someone who needed it. 💙

📣 It’s almost the second Saturday of the month, which means it’s Volunteer Day at MoNetwork! 💙

🗓 Saturday, August 8
🕙 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 3431 Meramec Street 63118

We’ll be packing kits, tackling some of those behind-the-scenes tasks that keep everything running smoothly and getting ready for another busy month of serving our community.

Whether you’re a regular volunteer or you’ve been thinking about joining us for the first time, we’d love to have you!

As the saying goes, many hands make light work—and every kit packed, every box organized, and every task checked off helps us reach more people with the resources they need.

Come lend a hand, meet some great people, and be part of something that truly makes a difference. We can’t wait to see you Saturday! 💙

Found a discarded syringe?
Here’s what to do.

If you come across a discarded syringe and you’re comfortable handling it, here’s how to safely dispose of it:

✔️ If you have gloves, wear them.

✔️ If you don’t, use a plastic bag, tissue or another barrier to avoid direct contact.

✔️ Pick it up carefully by the barrel (the plastic part).

✔️ Place it into a hard plastic container with a secure lid, like a laundry detergent bottle. If you’re transporting it, tape the lid shut if possible.

✔️ Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water afterward.

Then…

Bring it to MoNetwork.

We’ll safely dispose of any syringes you bring to us.
No questions asked.
No judgment.
No cost.

Safe disposal isn’t about what the syringe is used for. It’s about protecting the entire community.

Plus nobody wants to see litter — of any kind.

Another naloxone box is officially up and stocked!

You can now find free RiVive / naloxone at the Virginia (VAL) Community Garden in Dutchtown, available 24/7 with no cost and no barriers.

We’d like to thank Dutchtown STL for partnering with us and supporting the placement of this box. We appreciate your commitment to helping make this lifesaving medication more accessible to everyone in the community!

If you need naloxone take it.
No questions.
No barriers.
And if you don’t need it, take it anyway and carry it with you.
You never know when or where you could save a life.

Together, one box at a time, we’re making lifesaving resources easier to access.

Story time…
How Harm Reduction is Recovery…

This is one of the most beautiful parts of what we do. 💙

MoNetwork is a Recovery Community Center.

Our work has always been rooted in one simple belief: meet people where they are. Sometimes that’s on the street. Sometimes it’s at the drop-in center. Sometimes it’s during moments of struggle. Sometimes it’s during moments of growth. Most often, it’s somewhere in the middle.

We meet people in some of the darkest moments of their lives and then we stay.

We continue to show up. We continue to believe in them. We continue to love them, often long before they believe they’re worthy of that love themselves.

Because that’s where change begins.

We are incredibly fortunate that so many people stay connected with us for years. Sometimes we walk beside them through the struggle. Sometimes we get to celebrate every milestone as they rebuild their lives. And sometimes, if we’re really lucky we get to witness the life they once believed was impossible.

Today I want to share a little glimpse into two longtime participants stories.

Like so many people their journey wasn’t a straight line. There were setbacks, obstacles and moments where starting over felt like the only option. For the millionth time. But they kept coming back. They kept believing that maybe life could be different.

Today, they are building that different life together.

She is celebrating six months in recovery. She’s obtained her birth certificate, driver’s license, and other important documents that many of us take for granted but can be life-changing barriers when you don’t have them. She’s doing well in rebuilding relationships with her family, volunteering, giving back to the community and creating a future she can be proud of.
Her partner has been doing the same in making changes, he’s even earned his CDL and is building a career.
Together, they’ve chosen a healthier path and have supported one another every step of the way.

One of our favorite parts of watching their journey has been seeing the light come back. The smiles are genuine. The laughter comes easier. Their confidence has grown. They carry themselves differently. You can visibly see the peace they’ve fought so hard to find.

Recovery isn’t measured only in days.

Sometimes it’s measured in getting an ID.

Finding a job.

Keeping your commitments.

Healing relationships.

Showing up for yourself.

Laughing again. Those really deep belly laughs.

Living again. Thriving.

These are the stories that remind us why this work matters.

People don’t change because they’re shamed into it. They change when they feel seen. When they feel heard. When they feel valued. When someone believes in them before they can believe in themselves.

We have been blessed to witness this story unfold just as we’ve been blessed to witness countless others.
Every person who walks through our doors reminds us that healing is possible, hope is contagious and no one should ever be counted out.

And finally to these two participants — and to every person who has allowed us to be part of your journey — THANK YOU.

Thank you for trusting us.

Thank you for letting us celebrate your victories alongside you.

Thank you for reminding us every single day, why this work matters.

You make us proud beyond words and your stories make even the hardest days worth it.

Congratulations on all your accomplishments. Here’s to all the beautiful chapters still to come.

Harm reduction is recovery. Sometimes it just begins long before the world recognizes it as such.💙

SO… WHAT DO I ACTUALLY PUT USED SYRINGES IN?

The simple answer? Whatever you have.

If possible we recommend using a sturdy container with a lid for safer storage and transport. Things you may already have at home can work:

🧺 Empty laundry detergent containers
🐱 Kitty litter containers
🧴 Sturdy plastic jugs or containers with lids

Need an actual sharps container?
We have those too in several different sizes completely FREE!
Stop by MoNetwork, pick one up and bring it back when you’re ready for disposal. No cost to you.

But here’s what we REALLY want you to know:

We will take your used syringes back regardless of what you have them in.

A sharps container? Yep.
A laundry detergent jug? Yep.
A shoebox? Yep.
A bag? Yep.

We’ve seen just about everything — and we’re not here to judge your container.

Just bring them to us. We’ll take it from there. 💙

No questions asked.
No judgment.
No cost.

Because making syringe disposal safer starts with making it accessible.

EVERY SYRINGE HAS A STORY.

Insulin.
Fertility treatments.
Hormone therapy.
Allergy medications.
Injectable medications.
And the list goes on and on…

Syringes are used every single day by people from all walks of life and eventually every one of them has to go somewhere.

Did you know that in Missouri individuals can dispose of used household sharps in their regular household trash when they are properly secured in an appropriate puncture-resistant container?

That means many used syringes ultimately enter our everyday solid-waste system.

But there is another option.

💙 MoNetwork offers sharps disposal for ANY and ALL syringes — no questions asked.

Simply bring your used sharps to the Recovery Community Center during regular business hours and we’ll make sure they are properly disposed of.

It doesn’t matter why you use them.
No assumptions. No judgment. Just safe disposal.

Because safe sharps disposal is a community issue.

It helps protect sanitation workers, first responders, families, pets and the communities we all share.

Every syringe has a story.
Every syringe deserves a safe ending.

And soon accessing safe sharps disposal is going to get even easier.

Stay tuned for what’s coming next as we work to expand access to safe sharps disposal in our community. 💙

We’re all set up and ready to go!

MoNetwork is hanging out at the Gravois Jefferson Neighborhoods Open House today. Stop by say hi, grab some resources, learn a little about what we do and check out whats happening in the community.

We’re here the table is stocked and we’re ready for a great day! 💙