We recently connected with Ty Bechel and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ty thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?

After having some life experiences that affected my family and me, I embarked on a soul-searching mission. Trying to understand myself and the world around me, I started a small nonprofit that received some media coverage from local press.

One of the articles grabbed the attention of a director from a local agency and he contacted me about an opportunity. I met with him and interviewed for the position. I was later hired.

I started working full-time in the field of behavioral health as I continued to grow and build the nonprofit while balancing my family.

The goal of the nonprofit startup, Amare, was to assist in uplifting communities impacted by substance use, providing a trifecta approach – assist the individual, family, and community.

Today, with over four locations and serving five Illinois counties, we have built an amazing team of over ten paid staff, three dedicated volunteers, four Americorps members, and four interns.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My journey dates back to my childhood when I would dream of communities getting along. I admired my uncle Ronnie, who volunteered often, and looked up to other prominent and historical figures I had never met, such as John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others. As a child, I struggled to comprehend why there was so much turmoil and negativity in the world. However, as I grew older, my empathic perspective began to erode, and my desire for a cohesive society became distorted.

This shift in perception was partly triggered by a breakdown in my relationship with my father when I was 16 years old, which led us to go our separate ways. Growing up in poverty with my mother, relying on HUD assistance, and frequently moving from one house to another, life was always a struggle. Reconnecting with my father and then being kicked out had a more profound impact on my perception than I initially realized. I became angry and started hanging out with an older crowd, turning to heavy drinking as my grades plummeted during my senior year of high school.

Fast forward a few years, and I found myself battling alcohol and Vicodin addiction, parenting two beautiful daughters, and facing the possibility of prison while attempting to complete a drug court program. My depression deepened, drug use graduated to full-blown heroin addiction, and thoughts of suicide consumed me. I spent time in an institution three times and experienced two failed suicide attempts. I cannot describe what Hell in the afterlife might be like, but I can attest to the torment of living a life filled with isolation, shame, and regret.

Those feelings haunted me daily until August 19th, 2012. I sat alone in my mother’s house, with the ceiling fan circulating above, offering an odd sense of acceptance for my addiction. I glanced out the window and saw a blue sky, pondering the kind of freedom every human being deserves—not the government’s version, but the God-given freedom that no one can control. I collapsed to the floor, curling up in a fetal position, before getting to my knees in prayer as tears streamed down my face. I cried out, “God! If there is any reason for me to be here, then help me. If not, take my life and let me leave this place.”

I embarked on a transformative journey with God, determined to turn my life around and heal in ways I didn’t know I needed. Recovery and life came rushing back to me. In 2015, I founded Amare, a grassroots organization dedicated to alleviating, supporting, and mitigating substance use issues at the individual, family, and community levels; the trifecta I like to call it. We started as an all-volunteer initiative until 2021 when we hired our first two staff members.

Today, we provide recovery support services in five Illinois counties and have a team of eleven paid staff members, four AmeriCorps members, and four dedicated weekly volunteers with over a $700,000 annual budget. Along any journey, influential and supportive people play a crucial role. Tammy Iskarous of Riverbend Family Ministries, along with my children’s mother, her mother, my mother, and countless others, helped propel Amare forward, but Tammy provided our first brick-and-mortar space under RFM’s roof.

I continue to oversee Amare, and thanks to our largest donation to date from Tom and Vickie Maxwell, we acquired a 40,000 square-foot sports and fitness complex on six acres. We decided to keep the fitness and sports business open, operating it as a DBA under Amare as a separate division. We retained our five employees and are now looking to make a significant impact on health in the metro-east Illinois region.

I am immensely proud of what I have achieved with the support of the incredible people in my life, past and present. There were moments when I almost gave up and resigned myself to a life of misery, but I now understand that it was only temporary. Today, I embrace challenges and, most importantly, I love myself, my family, and my community.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I continued my journey of recovery and regained my footing, it was challenging to manage Amare while working full-time in an industry that fiercely guarded its double-bottom line. I felt drawn to Amare, but my job, which provided for my children, became increasingly unsupportive. Instead of offering support, they became almost tyrannical, insisting that I censor discussions about Amare internally and prohibiting the hanging of promotional material in their facility.

I eventually transitioned to a community-based position, which was a natural fit since I was already fulfilling the role Amare had been designed for. However, this shift brought new challenges as my community-focused and grassroots approach clashed with an organization boasting an annual budget of approximately $50 million.

I began to build a reputation, and I was invited to participate in development discussions for recovery support services at a local hospital. I eventually accepted a position in this new program, and things started off well as I continued to build Amare as a gift to the community and those in need of support for substance use issues. However, corporate influences crept in again, and the boss I deeply admired seemed to be under pressure from higher-ups, leading to a shift in her attitude towards me. We had a falling out about a week after I underwent expedited surgery, which led to additional infections and required five different antibiotics prior to this falling out. Our disagreement ultimately resulted in us parting ways, and my health deteriorated further.

Later that same year, following the fallout at the hospital, I continued to battle stomach infections that repeatedly landed me in and out of the hospital, leaving me in poor health. I found myself juggling my health, a full-time job, and part-time work at Amare. I observed and experienced firsthand how the corporate mindset can damage relationships with communities. In my opinion, many executives struggle to connect with communities because they become fixated on key performance indicators (KPIs) and financial gain. This internal conflict, combined with my deteriorating health, created a Groundhog Day-like experience similar to Bill Murray’s character in the 1993 film.

Amare eventually secured enough funding to expand its programs and provide me with a full-time salary in February 2022. We have since been able to show love and support to our communities in ways that other facilities and businesses simply cannot match. While these entities offer essential services, our community-centered approach is undeniably more essential for our communities.

Unfortunately, people and businesses often seek to control others, meddling in our lives and hindering us from reaching our full potential. Rather than offering support, they sometimes adopt behavior reminiscent of abusers from my childhood. The professional gaslighting, corporate jargon, and substantial budgets used to overpower someone smaller were stark reminders of some of Jesus’ final words. Amends have since been made, and forgiveness extended, as Amare now collaborates with some of these agencies for the good of the communities.

The pivot in my journey occurred, and I cannot precisely pinpoint why, but my deep love for our communities’ healing, recovery, and thriving served as a driving force for this change. Whether one considers it odd or God (divine intervention), each day presents a blessing as we strive to serve and cultivate healthier, more united communities.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I believe much of what I have already shared expresses deeply grounded resilience. Through this journey, which is not over yet as I remain teachable, I have learned much about myself, others, and communities. You come to grips with some people that supported you while you were sick now struggle with your successes as, what I guess is envy, finds them. Again, past and present supporters assist in ways we may not fully understand at the time, but with genuine reflection and connection to God, we understand more and ways to adapt and improve ourselves.

It is easy for me to say these things from a place of confidence today, but as my friend always use to say, “Don’t get it twisted.” Through my resilience, I must practice humility every day, remaining humble.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bechelandassociates.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/tybechel
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ty-a-bechel-08488baa

Image Credits
Picture 1: Left to Right: Amare Executive Director, Ty Bechel, Gym Manager, Ann Henson, Current Owners, Tom Maxwell, Vickie Maxwell Photo Credit – Ty Bechel Picture 2: Ty Bechel