Annual Ball Homes Night of Hope raises money for mental health and homelessness

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — The 15th Annual Ball Homes Night of Hope taking place on Wednesday.

It’s a night that’s been marking the lives of many throughout the years, the Ball Homes Night of Hope.

“We primarily started out addressing homelessness and quickly found that you can’t do that without addressing the underlying causes, which primarily are mental health and addiction,” says Destiny Oakley,  Assistant Director of Development with the Hope Center.

During the event, testimony from those who were once a part of the Hope Center share their experience.

The proceeds raised from the event, help the Hope Center in the battle against homelessness, substance use disorder and mental health disorders.

“So we’re really lucky to have gotten to expand our services. We’re now in eight buildings across Lexington, addressing those issues with recovery programs for men and women. as well as a lot of social services and housing options to help them reintegrate into the community,” added Oakley.

This year’s guest speaker was former MLB player, Darryl Strawberry, the “legendary straw man” to baseball fans and while he might have been mesmerizing fans with his athletic abilities, Strawberry was also dealing with personal battles outside of the baseball diamond.

“I experienced deep pain and my pain would eventually lead me to my greatness. Well, my greatness would eventually lead me to my destruction and the pain of who I was. The uniform just covers up the pain, but the reality of being broken and not knowing who you are is real and it would play out in my life. I was introduced to cocaine at the age of 21,” said Strawberry.

Nowadays, Strawberry shares his testimony as a way to inspire others.

For more information on the Hope Center click here.