Honoring Lavette Renee Butts
Substance use disorder touches every family differently, but one thing stays the same: no one should face it without support. The RENEE Foundation walks alongside families in the Inland Empire through every stage of the journey, from that first desperate phone call to sustained recovery and beyond.
My mother Renee struggled. I watched her. I watched our family try to hold everything together while feeling completely helpless. I know what it feels like to love someone who is sick and not know where to turn. That helplessness is what the RENEE Foundation is built to address.
Substance use disorder is a chronic brain disease. The American Society of Addiction Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, and every major medical body in the country recognizes it as such. It changes how the brain processes reward, motivation, and decision-making. Treatment works. Recovery is real. But stigma kills people before they ever get the chance to find out.
Here in the Inland Empire, we are in the middle of a public health crisis. San Bernardino County saw fentanyl deaths jump from just six in 2016 to 436 in 2023. That is not a statistic. Those are 436 families. 436 people who mattered. We refuse to look away.
"Addiction does not discriminate. It walks into NFL locker rooms. It walks into church. It walks into our homes. And it does not leave quietly."
Shareece Wright | Founder, RENEE FoundationBetween 2016 and 2023, fentanyl-related overdose deaths rose 7,167%, from 6 deaths to 436. Since 2021, 14 teenagers in San Bernardino County have lost their lives to fentanyl overdoses. One pill can kill.
Only a fraction of people with substance use disorder receive treatment in any given year. Barriers include cost, insurance complexity, transportation, fear of judgment, and not knowing where to start. The RENEE Foundation addresses all of these barriers directly.
For every person struggling with addiction, an estimated four to six family members are significantly impacted. Children of parents with substance use disorder face elevated risks for their own mental health, academic struggles, and generational trauma. Family support is not a side program. It is the program.
In San Bernardino County, 71% of youth receiving county SUD services also received county mental health services in 2023/24. Addiction and mental health cannot be treated in separate silos. We address the whole person.
The IE faces unique barriers: geographic spread, limited public transit, provider shortages, and a high rate of uninsured and underinsured residents. We know this community because we are this community. Our programs are built for the specific realities of San Bernardino County.
Families do not need to figure this out alone. Whether your loved one is still using, in active recovery, or you are grieving a loss, there is a place for you here. These are real people, real conversations, and real support built specifically for the Inland Empire community.
These groups are for the mothers, fathers, spouses, siblings, and children of someone struggling with addiction. You will sit with people who truly understand because they are living it too. No judgment. No pressure. Just honest conversation and real support modeled after the best practices of Al-Anon and Nar-Anon, adapted for the Inland Empire community.
Monthly / In-Person + VirtualIf you have lost someone to an overdose, you know that grief comes wrapped in confusion, anger, guilt, and a kind of pain that most people around you do not understand. These specialized groups are for families who are carrying that exact loss. We hold space for your grief and help you find a way forward without leaving your person behind.
Bi-Weekly / FacilitatedKids whose parents struggle with substance use deserve their own space to process what they are experiencing. These age-appropriate groups, led by trained facilitators, help children build resilience, understand what addiction is, and know that their parent's disease is not their fault and not their responsibility to fix.
Weekly / Ages 7-17All meetings are free. No registration required. Childcare available for select sessions.
| Group | Frequency | Day / Time | Location | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family Support Group For families of people with SUD |
Monthly | First Saturday, 10:00 AM | San Bernardino Community Center | In-Person |
| Family Support Group / Virtual Same curriculum, online |
Monthly | Third Tuesday, 6:30 PM | Zoom (link sent on registration) | Virtual |
| Overdose Grief Circle Loss to overdose survivors |
Bi-Weekly | Every other Thursday, 7:00 PM | Faith Community Partnerships (rotating) | In-Person |
| Children's Group / Ages 7-11 Parent in active use or recovery |
Weekly | Saturday, 9:00 AM | Aquinas HS Community Room, San Bernardino | In-Person |
| Children's Group / Ages 12-17 Teen-specific facilitation |
Weekly | Saturday, 11:00 AM | Aquinas HS Community Room, San Bernardino | In-Person |
| Family Recovery Celebration Community gathering, all families welcome |
Quarterly | Announced by program newsletter | Various IE Community Venues | All Welcome |
Naloxone (Narcan) reverses an opioid overdose in minutes. It is safe, easy to use, legal to carry in California without a prescription, and it has saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Every family in the Inland Empire should have it. We are making sure they can get it.
Our community Narcan training sessions are completely free, open to anyone, and run by trained instructors. No medical background required. Two hours, and you could save someone's life.
Every person who completes a training session leaves with two Narcan kits, a rescue breathing mask, and printed overdose response instructions. Zero cost to attendees.
Working with pharmacies, health departments, libraries, community centers, and faith communities to ensure Narcan is accessible throughout San Bernardino County.
Look for slow or stopped breathing, blue-tinged lips or fingertips, unresponsiveness, gurgling or snoring sounds. Call 911 immediately.
Insert the Narcan nasal spray into one nostril and press the plunger firmly. The dose is delivered instantly. This blocks the opioids from the brain receptors.
While waiting for the naloxone to take effect (2-5 minutes), administer rescue breaths if the person is not breathing on their own. Keep the airway clear.
If there is no response after 2-3 minutes, administer a second dose in the other nostril. Stay with the person until emergency services arrive. Do not leave them alone.
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM | San Bernardino Valley College | Community Room B
Hosted in partnership with SBC Department of Public Health
9:00 AM - 11:30 AM | Fontana Community Senior Center
Narcan training + family communication strategies
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM | Redlands United Church of Christ
Faith community partnership event
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM | Rialto Community Park
Free Narcan kits, no training required for pickup
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Aquinas HS Gymnasium
Narcan training for parents, hosted by Shareece Wright
The most powerful thing in recovery is hearing "me too" from someone who has been where you are and made it through. Our 12-month mentorship program pairs people in early or sustained recovery with trained peer mentors who have walked this path and know what real, lasting recovery looks like.
Mentee and mentor are matched based on substance history, life circumstances, and goals. Both complete orientation together. Ground rules, expectations, and a 12-month agreement are established.
Weekly one-on-one contact: in person, by phone, or video. Together, mentee and mentor identify three to five 90-day goals across health, housing, employment, and relationships. Progress is tracked monthly.
Mentors connect mentees to workforce development programs, recovery-friendly employers, and housing resources within the RENEE Foundation partner network. No one gets stable in recovery without stability in housing and income.
In the final quarter, mentees are invited to consider becoming mentors themselves. The strongest tool for sustained recovery is being needed by someone coming up behind you.
If you have at least 12 months of continuous recovery and want to give back to the IE community, we want to hear from you. Training, support, and community provided.
Recovery-friendly workplaces do not just exist because it is the right thing to do. They exist because they work. Employees who receive support during and after treatment have significantly higher retention rates. The cost of replacing an employee is real. Losing a good person to untreated addiction is even more so.
The science of addiction, how SUD manifests in the workplace, and how to distinguish performance issues from health issues.
Practical tools for managers and HR: how to have the conversation, what reasonable accommodations look like, and how to set clear expectations while maintaining support.
Half-day workshop that takes your leadership team through the key policy components of a recovery-friendly workplace, from EAP integration to return-to-work agreements.
Train your entire workforce to recognize and respond to an overdose. In partnership with San Bernardino County Department of Public Health.
One in eleven American workers has a substance use disorder. That means it is already in your organization. The question is not whether addiction affects your team. It is whether your workplace is set up to help or to hide it.
The RENEE Foundation brings workshops directly to Inland Empire businesses, helping leadership teams and HR professionals reduce stigma, support employees in recovery, and create workplaces where people can be honest about where they are in their journey.
Language, attitude, and culture shifts that make it safer for employees to ask for help before a crisis occurs.
Supported employees in recovery have higher long-term retention than average workforce turnover rates.
Clear, legally sound policy frameworks that protect both the employer and the employee throughout the recovery process.
Narcan training means your team is equipped to respond to a medical emergency, inside or outside of work.
If you are in crisis or need to talk to someone today, these resources are available to you. All of them are free. All of them are confidential.
Free, confidential treatment referral and information service for individuals and families facing substance use disorders. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. English and Spanish.
Call Now ›SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) provides free, confidential help for people facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This line provides information and treatment referrals to local programs. There is no cost, no insurance required, and no requirement to give your name.
If you do not know where to start, start here. The people on this line have heard it all and they are not there to judge. They are there to help you take the next step.
Text-based crisis support for anyone in any type of crisis, including substance use emergencies. Trained crisis counselors respond within minutes. Free, confidential, available any time.
Text Now ›San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health provides substance use disorder treatment referrals, mental health services, and crisis support for county residents. Free assessment, multiple languages.
Call SBC DBH ›Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous maintain active meeting schedules throughout the Inland Empire. Multiple meetings available daily in San Bernardino, Riverside, Fontana, Rialto, Redlands, and surrounding cities.
Find AA Meetings ›California has a Good Samaritan law. If you call 911 for a drug overdose, the person who calls and the person who overdosed are protected from certain drug possession charges. Do not hesitate. Call 911.
Call 911 ›The official SAMHSA treatment locator database includes over 14,000 substance use treatment facilities nationwide, searchable by location, insurance, population served, and treatment type.
Find Treatment ›The IEOCC is a learning and action network of professionals, institutions, and community members working to reduce opioid use and deaths across San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. Local resources, local voice.
Visit IEOCC ›Fill out this form and a trained recovery navigator from the RENEE Foundation will reach out within 24 hours. Everything you share is completely confidential. You do not have to have it all figured out. Just tell us where you are, and we will take it from there.
100% Confidential. Your information is never shared outside the RENEE Foundation. This form goes directly and securely to our recovery navigation team. No information is sold or shared with third parties.
If this is a medical emergency or someone is actively overdosing, call 911 immediately. Do not wait for a response from this form.
These are not aspirational numbers. These are our commitments to San Bernardino County families. Every target is built around the capacity we are developing, the partnerships we are forming, and the community need that already exists.
"Recovery is possible. I have seen it. I have been around people who have rebuilt their lives completely after addiction. The Inland Empire deserves the same access to that possibility that wealthier zip codes take for granted. That is what we are building."
Shareece Wright | Founder, RENEE Foundation