The drinking started around age 10 and the drugs a few years later for a 32-year-old Lawrence woman named Olivia.

It took nearly two decades and a stay at DCCCA’s in-patient substance abuse facility — First Step at Lakeview, 3015 W. 31st. St. — for her to get, and stay, clean.

Three years after graduating from the substance abuse program, Olivia told her story to dozens of women in recovery at DCCCA’s annual Recovery Day on Saturday. Women in the program approached Olivia with hugs and thank-yous afterward.

“I felt like it was something I needed to do,” said Olivia of coming back to the program that helped her kick drugs and alcohol.

Olivia’s talk, and several other events Saturday at the facility, were designed to celebrate recovery and inspire a drug-free life, said Lisa Carter, program coordinator at First Step. Family and friends of the three dozen women at the facility played games and mingled. As part of National Recovery Month, Carter said, the program opens its doors to the public to highlight the success stories they see every day.

The women come from different backgrounds and are at different stages in their lives, but tackling similar issues brings them together, said Pat, a Lawrence woman with two weeks left in the 17-week in-patient program. Pat sought treatment for her alcohol addiction for the first time in May after a “downward spiral,” which included losing her business and the deaths of two close family members.

She said she’s looking forward to leaving the facility, but said she’ll miss the support of the women and staff.

“You form a community,” Pat said. They “get strength from each other.”