October 24, 2019
First Lady shares message of hope with New Town
By Jerry W. Kram
North Dakota First Lady Kathleen Burgum has been open about her recovery from substance abuse since her husband became governor. She has dedicated herself to using her position to reduce the stigma attached to substance abuse to make it easier for people to seek recovery.
That was the message she brought to New Town Tuesday as she toured North Segment with MHA Tribal Business Council Representative Monica Mayer. Burgum toured the year-old The Door Recovery Lodge, met segment staff at the Northern Lights Wellness Center, toured the new construction around New Town, gave a presentation at New Town High School and visited the MHA Tourism Earth Lodge Village.
“They have a lot of awesome things in New Town,” Burgum said. “I’ve been here a few times but haven’t really had the time outside of being in meetings. So the opportunity to tour the community and spending time with people is special.”
Burgum, who is a recovering alcoholic, was very impressed by the services offered by The Door. She said the facility should be duplicated across the state.
“The courage to open the first facility of its kind in our state is really important,” Burgum said. “I have been in recovery myself from alcohol addiction for the last 17 years. So as first lady, that was a pretty natural path to go down for my platform. I want to eliminate the stigma related to the disease of addiction. A big part of that is telling people addiction is a disease.”
That was the message she brought to New Town Tuesday as she toured North Segment with MHA Tribal Business Council Representative Monica Mayer. Burgum toured the year-old The Door Recovery Lodge, met segment staff at the Northern Lights Wellness Center, toured the new construction around New Town, gave a presentation at New Town High School and visited the MHA Tourism Earth Lodge Village.
“They have a lot of awesome things in New Town,” Burgum said. “I’ve been here a few times but haven’t really had the time outside of being in meetings. So the opportunity to tour the community and spending time with people is special.”
Burgum, who is a recovering alcoholic, was very impressed by the services offered by The Door. She said the facility should be duplicated across the state.
“The courage to open the first facility of its kind in our state is really important,” Burgum said. “I have been in recovery myself from alcohol addiction for the last 17 years. So as first lady, that was a pretty natural path to go down for my platform. I want to eliminate the stigma related to the disease of addiction. A big part of that is telling people addiction is a disease.”
