Dave Carver of Greenfield was recently named chairman of the board for A Better Life — Brianna’s Hope, a nonprofit which supports those struggling with addiciton. It was named for Brianna DiBattiste, a young woman from Portland, Ind. who died of a drug overdose.
GREENFIELD — Dave Carver has seen some terrible things throughout his previous career as police detective with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
To balance the bad with the good, the Greenfield man has devoted his life to helping others.
Carver was recently appointed chairman of the board of an Indiana nonprofit dedicated to helping those struggling with addiction.
Brianna’s Hope was founded in Portland, Ind. in 2014 but has since grown to include 45 chapters in Indiana and eight in Ohio. It serves those battling addiction through both in-person meetings and a podcast.
It also educates the public on the dangers of addiction and what addicts experience.
Carver said it’s a privilege to serve an organization that touches so many lives.
Since its founding, it has assisted more than 1,700 people into recovery treatment and has addressed more than 27,000 students and staff members in various schools.
It’s also seen an estimated 800 people commit or recommit their lives to Christ.
Seventeen different denominations are involved by providing leadership or locations for Brianna’s hope to meet, said Carver.
Meetings are also held in county jails, community buildings, libraries, rehabs, youth centers and other locations.
In his new role as board chairman, Carver will focus on public speaking and marketing while assisting with grant writing and fundraising.
He said his background working with executives in the private sector has primed him for streamlining organizations and making them more efficient, which includes writing policies and procedures.
“All of these skill sets will help to make one of the fastest growing recovery movements a better 501(c)3,” he said of Brianna’s Hope.
The recovery-based nonprofit was created in memory of Brianna DiBattiste, a former high school cheerleader and softball player who fell into the throes of addiction.
Growing up in small town Indiana, she typically made friends easily and showed unconditional love and concern for those around her. Yet she experimented with drugs at a very young age, and heroin eventually took over her life.
Although she tried rehab several times, her young life was cut short when she left home one night and never returned. After several months of searching, her body was found in a wooded area in Jay County. She had died of a drug overdose.
The nonprofit that bears her name was formed by a pastor named Randy Davis, who now serves as the nonprofit’s executive director.
He was the pastor to Brianna and her family at a church in Portland, Ind. — 75 miles northeast of Greenfield — when Brianna went missing.
After leading Brianna’s memorial service, Davis approached her family with the idea of establishing a faith-based addiction support group in her memory.
A few months later, on November 5, 2014, “Brianna DiBattiste,” was formed.
According to the nonprofit’s website, what began as a small neighborhood group meeting of 22 people in a quiet rural town has grown to a full-fledged nonprofit that has helped more than 1,200 people find and receive detox and/or rehabilitation services that they otherwise would not have been able to afford.
Brianna’s Hope was founded on a prayer Brianna had handwritten, which her mother found in her room while she was missing.
In it she wrote: “Please Lord…help me to do the right thing and to show people I am not a bad person inside or out and help me Lord to get through this disappointment again….I make mistakes but who doesn’t? I don’t do it to do wrong. I do it cuz I feel I have no other choice. I want a better life, Lord, I do. Please help me.”
According to the Brianna’s Hope website, the nonprofit’s mission is to provide “hope through Christ to individuals and communities battling addiction using support, encouragement and collaboration.”
While new chapters continue to sprout up, Carver is happy to report that the Greenfield chapter is currently dormant.
“At one time, it had up to 13 members in it, but everyone managed to stay sober and get back to their normal lives,” he said.
“The key to everything we’re trying to do is to help them transition from being full blown addicts to being technically sober for an extended period of time, to the point of turning to normal, productive society.”
Carver first joined the nonprofit six years ago, soon after the Greenfield chapter was formed.
He can often be found serving meals or sweeping floors at various weekly meetings, which include a weekly devotional and lesson as well as sharing victories and challenges those in attendance have experienced throughout the week.
“It’s done in almost a family environment because we share a meal together first,” Carver said.
The Greenfield chapter was formed by Rev. Markus Dennis, pastor of Riley Friends Church, who now runs a chapter in Fortville that Carver helped establish. Carver also helped plant a chapter in Knightstown and the newest chapter based in Ingalls.
Carver looks forward to helping the nonprofit support many more addicts in the coming years, all in Brianna’s memory.
For more information on Brianna’s Hope, visit ablbh.org.
