From Grief to Hope

Local woman uses her own grief to help residents at Emerge

XENIA — As a parent, there are few things in this world that could be more devastating than the loss of a child, especially when that child dies at a young age in a very tragic way.

For many parents, in fact, this type of loss can be so heart wrenching that they struggle for the rest of their lives to deal with the pain. Some don't make it through. Grief changes people; it is a real thing in our world.

Hope Reger knows this all too well. A native of Xenia, Reger gave birth to two sons in our region – Brian and her youngest, Justin.

Why Emerge?

When asked why she volunteers her time to come to Emerge, Reger said she does it to honor Justin, who would have been a supporter of this cause.

"I live nearby. I read about Emerge in the newspaper and through social media. Both of my kids went to the Greene County Career Center here. When I heard what you were doing out here, I started to read up on Emerge. Even though drugs didn't take my son, they put him in that environment. If he was alive today, he would be out here supporting this."
— Hope Reger

Reger said she reached out to Emerge staff members and began volunteering, turning her grief into a force for good in the community.