‘Truth’ debuts

A Better Life – Brianna’s Hope extended its reach Wednesday.

The faith-based addiction recovery program’s new TV show, “Faith in Your Recovery – The Truth Behind Hope,” premiered Wednesday on new Roku TV channel MPowermeTV.

New episodes air Mondays and Wednesdays, with reruns slated for Fridays.

“This is a faith-based, family-friendly effort,” explained Randy Davis, founder of Brianna’s Hope. “So it’s right down the alley of what we’ve been doing with our podcast. It’s a perfect fit for us.”

Plans are for the show to include Davis’ podcast, “Faith In Your Recovery,” as well as a 15-minute segment for “The Truth Behind Hope,” a mini-documentary series led by Jay County native Aric Hartvig.

Davis, a retired Jay County pastor, founded A Better Life – Brianna’s Hope in 2014 following the death of Brianna DiBattiste. What started as a faith-based addiction support group has grown in the last decade to include 44 chapters, with groups in 28 Indiana counties and three Ohio counties.

Four years ago, Davis launched “Faith in Your Recovery,” a podcast focused on “all things recovery.” It’s had more than 200 episodes since then and releases a show weekly.

Brianna’s Hope leaders saw an opportunity to expand its reach when they read a Facebook post from former professional wrestler Ira Mark Smith gauging interest for establishing a faith-based, family oriented channel. Organizations and individuals from across the United States have joined to create shows for the new TV channel.

According to its website, MPowermeTV aims to “help families and individuals overcome struggles such as marriage issues, drug dependency, depression, grief, and those needing encouragement.”

Brianna’s Hope received $25,000 in opioid settlement funds from Jay County Commissioners last month to go toward producing the new hour-long TV show.

“Faith in Your Recovery – The Truth Behind Hope” combines the podcast and a segment from Jay County native Aric Hartvig’s mini-documentaries on hope and overcoming challenges. (Logo provided)

 

The show combines Davis’ podcast as well as a segment from Hartvig. 

Having recently joined the world of independent filmmaking, Hartvig connected with Davis and seized the opportunity to produce and air mini-documentaries on hope and overcoming challenges. He initially met Davis while creating a documentary on the opioid crisis.

The new series follows Brianna’s Hope activities as well as addiction recovery stories and other topics.

“In my belief, that is Jesus,” said Hartvig, a 1998 Jay County High School graduate and current Upland resident who worked with “PBS NewsHour” for more than 20 years. “It’s kind of like a fly away of talking about, trying to create Christian content, but just through a magazine storytelling type of format.”

Hartvig said he’s hoping to continue producing episodes about folks in Jay County and east central Indiana. He noted the show will travel outside of Indiana at times, pointing to an episode about visiting a Philadelphia neighborhood. While in the area, which he said is known for its drug epidemic, his team used NARCAN provided by Jay County through Brianna’s Hope on an individual, and it saved their life.

Another story involves women from a local church selling pies at Tri-State Antique Engine and Tractor Show to raise money for missionaries.

“It goes beyond just a guest, and we try to tell some inspiring stories, and hopefully we’ll be able to keep those inspiring stories coming,” Hartvig said.

Davis said it’s humbling to see the organization’s outreach expand to TV. At 75, he talked about the privilege he feels to share the word of God and addiction recovery stories to a wider audience. He said one of the group’s goals is to help reduce the stigma associated with folks in recovery.

“Our goal is to (inspire) change and save lives,” he said. “I’ve always said, you can pray for the farm, and God may give you the acreage, but he’ll never drive your tractor … we’re doing the hands-on work, He’s just strategizing. It’s humbling, but it is fun. It’s fun to accomplish and know you’re still making a difference.”

“It’s good news, maybe, it’s real stories, and it’s local,” Hartvig said. “There’s a lot of Jay County in here, there’s a lot of Indiana in these stories. And I feel like, in a world of so much bad news, some stories about hope might be just what you need.”