Overcomers on the Move was founded in 2017 by Director Kim Flynn. Her faith in Jesus, lived experience with mental health and addiction, and healing in recovery, inspired her to start a peer-led organization. “ My peers were my greatest strength and inspiration.” Kim learned in recovery she was not the only one that suffered from generational trauma, incarceration, victimization by human trafficking, and failed attempts at recovery from substance use disorder.

Kim’s lived experience empowered her to envision helping others overcome these same issues. Her own journey consisted of many pathways to recovery-clinical counseling, peer support, faith-based support, and recovery programming in the community has enabled Kim to experience long-term sobriety.

In 2020 the Coronavirus pandemic brought on new challenges for everyone. Many people were suffering from mental health crises, human trafficking, and substance use disorder, and people were overdosing at an alarming rate. The first Grace Gathering Outreach began in June of 2020 on the late Ms. Victoria Flynn’s birthday. Ms. Victoria Flynn is Kimberly’s mother who Kim often refers to as her hero for overcoming untreated trauma and mental health.

The outreach began with volunteers bringing home-cooked food and hygiene items from their homes. They started the street outreach in an empty parking lot on the Hilltop to share the love of God, offer peer support, and instill hope. Many community members joined them for prayer, food, and resources. Since that first night they have been offering peer support, harm reduction supplies, food, hygiene care kits, clothing, and most importantly prayer every week.

In August 2022, they opened their first faith-based recovery housing program for women in transition. Since the recovery housing program opened, twelve women have graduated. These graduates had not completed another program previously, underscoring the critical importance of peer support services. Four of the graduates are now working in the behavioral health field.

Overcomers on the Move has launched a few new initiatives. Their MythBusters theme aims to dispel myths surrounding peer support and the four key areas they address: substance use, mental health, human trafficking, and re-entry. March of 2024, they held their first MythBusters Fundraiser in honor of Women’s History Month. May of 2024, they held their first MythBusters panel and resource fair at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in honor of Mental Health Month. Multiple community behavioral health agencies joined in their efforts to support returning citizens.

In April 2024, they began a peer internship program to improve the peer workforce. Eight interns are now Certified Peer Recovery Supporters working in the behavioral field.

Since the beginning of the program, Overcomers on the Move has expanded peer support services, obtained multiple community partnerships to aid with harm reduction, opioid prevention, implemented new initiatives to support the recovery community, and continues to offer education on recovery capital and anti-human trafficking.

Their passion and goal is to spread awareness, prevent overdose, empower individual adults, families, youth, and young adults by fostering recovery capital, providing affordable recovery housing, and peer support services.

WE MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE. WE RECOVER BETTER TOGETHER.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

Revelation 12:11 NKJV