About
We started as a picnic, we grew into a movement
In 2019, a small group of organizers held a festival of celebration for those in recovery from substance abuse. We also invited local resources to exhibit and offer their services to others seeking help for themselves or a loved one. We wanted to meet them where they’re at no matter where they are on their path. The attendance and excitement went well beyond what anyone expected. We heard countless stories of people who couldn’t find support and resources for themselves or a loved one. We quickly learned that this was something our community needed more of. As excitement grew, Recover Michiana Fest grew. In 2021 we held our 2nd annual festival in Howard Park in South Bend, Indiana where our attendance doubled in size. Our grassroots organization attracted people, organizations, and entertainers from across the country who wanted to be a part the movement.In 2022 Recover Michiana, Inc was established as a 501c3 non-profit organization. Through our work and outreach, we have been recognized by the Indiana Recovery Network, a program of Mental Health America of Indiana.
Recover Michiana Mission
- Raise awareness by holding family friendly events across the state of Indiana in an effort to reduce the stigma and increase access to local services for all persons affected by substance abuse.
- Create and maintain a resource hub and provide resource mapping for the purpose of providing free information and access to local services recognizing that there are many acceptable pathways to recovery.
- Provide higher education scholarships for individuals who have lost a parent to substance abuse.
- Provide funding for and access to recovery coaches and peer support who offer guidance and support to individuals and families affected by substance abuse in an effort to break down barriers hindering successful rehabilitation.
Meet the Board
Alicia Wells, Founder
Co-Founder and Executive Director of Recover Michiana
alicia@recovermichianafest.org
Alicia Wells serves as the Public Relations Liaison for Allendale Treatment and Fort Wayne Recovery. Having personally overcome incarceration and substance abuse disorder, she utilizes her hard-earned wisdom from these experiences to offer unbiased and empathetic guidance to recovery. Her main focus is on connecting clients and families with treatment options, either instead of or in conjunction with incarceration.
Within Recover Michiana, Alicia plays a crucial role in fostering community collaboration, conducting outreach efforts, and establishing connections with clients and families to ensure they have access to local treatment programs that uphold the highest standards of care and integrity. Her involvement also extends to contributing significantly to the organization’s management and administration.
Alicia’s broader vision for the community is to ensure that everyone has access to top-notch treatment facilities. Additionally, she actively advocates for positive change in addressing the challenges posed by the opioid epidemic in the present climate. Her dedication to improving the lives of those affected by substance use disorder is evident in her compassionate and forward-thinking approach to her work.
Beth Szweda, Founder
Co-Founder and Director of Administration and Finance of Recover Michiana
beth@recovermichianafest.org
Beth Szweda is the founder and CEO of Correct Property Tax LLC. Her journey began in the recovering community when her family was deeply impacted by the opioid crisis. Witnessing the struggles her then-husband faced with substance abuse for nearly a decade, and eventually losing him to the disease, compelled Beth to use her skills as a successful business owner to make a positive change and assist other families facing similar challenges.
The bond between Beth and Alicia was formed with a common goal in mind: to harness their shared, yet distinct experiences with the opioid crisis and channel them into a purpose-driven initiative that could bring about positive change. Their collaboration is fueled by a deep understanding of the challenges posed by addiction, stemming from their individual journeys. Together, they are committed to making a significant impact in the lives of those affected by substance abuse, offering support, guidance, and hope to families and individuals in need.
In the organization, Beth’s primary focus lies in managing finances, conceptualizing and implementing innovative ideas, and ensuring the smooth functioning of the infrastructure, all while providing strong leadership in the administration.
The Szweda family’s mission centers around providing support to families, especially children, who endure the heartache of growing up in an environment affected by substance abuse. Their passion is dedicated to promoting hope, peace, and recovery, seeking to bring positive transformations to the lives of all those affected in our community.
Dayna Baxter
Dayna Baxter, MSW, LSW, HS-BCP. Dayna has been a resident of Michiana for over 25 years and raised two daughters in this community. As a police social worker, she specializes in working with survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking and stalking. She has a passion for multidisciplinary collaboration and love bringing diverse perspectives together to solve issues. Dayna also teach part-time in the Social Work Department at Saint Mary’s College. As the daughter of two parents with substance use disorders, she was significantly impacted by this issue. Dayna joined the Recover Michiana Board in 2022, after losing one young family member to an overdose and another to medical effects of prolonged substance abuse.
Jaime Case
Jaime Case-Williams is a wife and mom to four children. When her own personal recovery journey for Alcohol Use Disorder began in 2017, Jaime became passionate about helping others impacted by addiction and trauma. She is a Community Outreach Coordinator for Allendale Treatment, where she cultivates relationships with the community by promoting recovery, supporting families of struggling loved ones, offering recovery resources and providing hope.
As someone who has personally experienced the fear and anxiety of seeking help for a substance use disorder, Jaime’s goal is to remove any stigma and barriers associated with accessing quality addictions and mental health treatment and to empower others to believe that living a life in recovery is not only possible, but that it can be fun, beautiful, and authentic!
Jillian Szweda
Jillian is a student at Purdue University, where she is studying Public Health with a concentration in Health Policy and Management. Professionally, she hopes to make positive, impactful change within our nation to make recovery more accessible, accepted, and safe for everyone regardless of socioeconomic status, race, gender, and location. Jillian has a particular interest in harm reduction policy and holistic healing using the 8 Dimensions of Wellness.
She has been an active volunteer for Recover Michiana since its inception in 2019, officially becoming a Board Member in 2023. Having lost her father in 2017 to an opioid overdose after a lifelong battle, she is keenly familiar with the anxiety, sadness, grief, and helplessness you feel as a child knowing your parent might be taken from you someday. The reality of “addiction” for a child can be scary, overwhelming, shameful, complicated, rage-inducing, and so much more — but Jillian’s mission has always been, and will remain, for children to feel empowered enough to break the vicious generational cycles of substance abuse and mental illness with the support of their community.
With the help of her family, Jillian founded the Szweda Scholarship in 2020 to uplift children who have lost a parent to substance use disorder. There are no academic requirements, but the high school senior must be attending a four-year institution in pursuit of a higher degree. If you are or know a high school soon-to-be senior who has lost their parent, please direct them to the “Scholarship” tab on our website.
Sarah Howland
Coming Soon!
Meet the Advisory Board
Matthew Kaczmarek
Matthew Kaczmarek is a South Bend native. He holds a BS in Psychology and a BA in Fine Arts from Indiana University Bloomington. Since 2018 he has been in his current position as Program Director at Dismas House of Indiana. After graduating from IU in 2016 he joined the Dismas team as support staff and served as an AmeriCorps member before taking on his current role. Matthew currently is a Certified Addiction Peer Recovery Coach 1 (CAPRC-1) and is in the process of becoming a Medical Assistance Treatment Specialist through the state of Indiana. Matthew is passionate about his work to help returning citizens reintegrate back into society and reduce the barriers these individuals face every day.
He is heavily involved in the community serving on various coalition groups and boards in Northern Indiana. At Dismas and as chair of the Community Awareness workgroup for St. Joseph County’s drug-free community coalition, he has spearheaded many campaigns around criminal justice reform, addressing stigmatization/biases toward criminal justice-involved individuals, improving access to medical-assisted treatments for those in prisons or jails with substance use disorder, and has advocated for the adoption of harm reduction practices in our recovery community.
Alejandro Saucedo
Alejandro is a Kingdom-Minded Champion Leader that thrives in all that he does. He has a strong passion for activism for many social issues affecting our community. He is driven by faith to make a positive impact for all those he encounters.
Alejandro has firsthand experience in suffering from the chains of addiction for over 15 years. Facing criminal charges and looking at spending the rest of his life in prison, he chose to seek recovery while incarcerated. His transformation process led to outstanding results and now leads a life of excellence.
Alejandro’s approach to tackling recovery is uncommon but desperately needed. He meets the suffering addict right where they are literally, in the streets. He has made a connection with other addicts in high-risk neighborhoods by loving them when they are unable to love themselves. He offers them prayers, a listening ear, clothing, resources, transportation, conflict intervention, Narcan distribution, and job placement through his various connections or his own business dedicated to second chance employment.
Recovery Michiana made a big impression on Alejandro’s heart and embraced him full force when he was released from prison. He got involved right away and desired to contribute to the mission by becoming one of the first male board members on our team.
Heidi Heckaman
Heidi Heckaman, CARPC II has lived in St. Joseph County almost all her life. She is a wife and mother. Heidi has struggled with substance use and maintaining good mental health practices all her life. Her journey of recovery started in 2017. Since embarking on her recovery journey, Heidi has achieved remarkable progress. She managed to break free from the clutches of the criminal justice system, which is a significant achievement considering the challenges that individuals with substance use issues often face in the legal system. Additionally, she was able to reunify with her youngest son, who was in the care of the Department of Child Services (DCS). Rebuilding family relationships after such challenges speaks to her dedication and resilience. Heidi’s transformation extended beyond her personal life and into her professional path.
Her passion for helping her community really began to flourish in 2020, when she felt prompted by God to start volunteering at Oaklawn Psychiatric Center as a recovery coach. She officially joined their team in February of 2021 and continues to serve there at the Recovery Café South Bend as the coordinator. She became a Peer Support Specialist and Supervisor of Recovery Coaches. Heidi also serves on the Board of Directors for the Upper Room Recovery Community (a sober living facility), South Bend’s low barrier shelter M4N, The Partnership for a Drug Free St. Joe County, and Indiana Birth Parent Advisory board. Heidi’s multiple roles in her community showcases her leadership and ability to guide others in their journeys of healing and transformation.
She enthusiastically joined Recover Michiana Advisory Board in June of 2023.
“My passion is to provide hope to the hopeless, directions for the lost, evaluating resources in our community to share with its members, and to be a light in our darkest corners. I know there is more, and I want to share that and connect people to the help and resources they need. What I want for myself and for all those I serve is to not just to survive, but to thrive. -Heidi
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