'I was one of these kids.' Volunteers come together to pack comfort bags for youth impacted by substance abuse

MATTOON, Ill. (WAND) — 'I was one of these kids," Timothy Myer shared, one of the many volunteers who came to help Circle of Care in Mattoon.

Myer isn't the only one who knows firsthand what it feels like to be a child raised in a household with substance abuse present. Now, he's helping kids who were once in his shoes.

"I know that whenever somebody gets one of these bags, they're going to be happy with what's inside of it!" Myer added, with a smile.

The Circle of Care is packaging up comfort bags to be shipped throughout the state of Illinois. The team provides trauma-informed grief support resources for impacted youth and teens.

"Children are the first hurt and the last helped. We want to change that narrative," said Circle of Care Program Coordinator, Ambrosia Branson.

Changing that narrative, starts with one idea. When asking Branson how many comfort bags she hopes to pack up, a wide grin spread across her face.

"We are putting together 14,400 comfort bags!" she replied. "Usually, I tell people that and they're like, oh my gosh. That's nuts. But we're doing 14,400 comfort bags!"

These bags are separated by youth and teens, as well as in English and Spanish.

With the help of hundreds of hands, these bags will soon be off and on their way to find their forever homes.

One volunteer, Ashley Hemmer, put it best. "There are people out here that love and care about them. We are doing everything we can to make sure they know that."

To learn more about Circle of Care, and see what resources they have to offer, click here.