'Pain Into Purpose': Mom Honors Late Son's Memory, Addiction Fight With Kits For Others In Recovery

MOKENA, IL — The mother of a Mokena man who died at 29 years old in 2023 is honoring his memory—and his strength through his battle with addiction—with an effort to support others in early recovery.

Katie Hollingsworth, whose son Robbie died in September 2023, is creating "Fight On For Robbie" bags filled with essential items for people as they face their own fights with addiction. Each bag contains personal hygiene products, water, snacks, cold weather gear, socks and fidget toys. Each will also include NARCAN and Fentanyl test strips, as well as photos honoring those who have died from substance abuse.

She's collecting the items via an Amazon wishlist throughout the month of August, poignantly timed as International Overdose Awareness Day falls on Aug. 31. She'll deliver the bags to the Recovery Community Center of Joliet in September—the month Robbie was born in 1994, and died in 2023.

"I am an angel mom who decided to turn her pain into purpose," reads a card she'll include with the bags, "by offering a hand up to those who have struggled, or continue to struggle with, any type of mental health or substance use disorder."

It's a way for Hollingsworth to funnel her grief for a greater good, she said.

"It’ll help me get through the month, to have this to focus on," she said.

For 15 years, Robbie had struggled with addiction—"all of his adult life," she said. As he sought resources for recovery, Hollingsworth said they realized how sparse space was at rehab and recovery centers. Often, there was a wait time of weeks or longer.

"Someone who is in active addiction, they may not survive three more weeks like that," Hollingsworth said.

Robbie's recovery was spurred by an arrest shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic. He was incarcerated for nine months, with court-ordered substance abuse treatment afterward. That led to his longest stretch of sobriety—the two years prior to his death, Hollingsworth said.

He relapsed before his death, she said, but Hollingsworth isn't sure for how long.

Robbie was found dead in a Manhattan retention pond days after he had been reported missing. He had suffered a psychotic episode, his mother said, and his cause of death was drowning.

'I learned to love him where he was'

Supporting Robbie through his battle with substance abuse took patience, and was a learning process for those around him.

As she collects items on her Amazon Wishlist to stuff the bags she'll give to those in recovery, Hollingsworth remembers how she discovered that to be the best support for Robbie, she had to put herself first.

"I learned to take care of myself first," she said. "I did that by going to meetings (for families of addicts). Once I started taking care of myself—and I learned that I couldn’t make decisions for him, and that I couldn’t cure his addiction—and backed off, he started getting better. That’s what helped him get into recovery.

"I probably wouldn’t have had 29 years with him if I hadn’t learned how to do that. I just kind of learned to love him where he was at. I’m grateful for that, because we had a lot of good memories, and he was able to reconnect with family."

As Robbie fought for recovery, Hollingsworth learned how little support was available for people like him.

"There were not enough treatment centers," she said. "There’s not enough mental health support."

A drug epidemic grips Will County, with 104 drug-related deaths in 2024—the majority of them opiate-related, the County reports. Of those deaths, 64 were fentanyl/heroin-related.

As of Aug. 5, there have been 37 drug-related deaths in Will County—17 of them are linked to fentanyl/heroin.

The Joliet recovery center wasn't open yet at the time Robbie was seeking help, but Hollingsworth has learned they provide many of the resources that could have helped someone like him.

"It’s a new program, but they have a lot to offer," she said. "Job search help, housing. They offer counseling, they offer all of those resources."

The center was established in 2023 with the assistance of the Will County Substance Use Initiative program. Its mission is "providing crucial support & resources to individuals in recovery," with "comprehensive support services, a dedicated team, and a supportive environment that focuses on overall wellness."

The center offers community showers, a "professional closet," a resource lab with computer access, and Peer Recovery Support Specialists (PRSS) to help individuals with job readiness, housing applications, and recovery planning. Weekly workshops focus on financial literacy, resume building, credit repair, and life skills, while peer-led support groups and 12-step meetings offer emotional support and connection, according to the center's website.

"Whenever I see someone in recovery, it’s so comforting for me," Hollingsworth said. "It just helps me, to help people that are seeking recovery. To remind them that there are people that they don’t even know, who do care about them, are rooting for them."

Hollingsworth is collecting items that can be purchased through her Amazon Wishlist. The last day for collection is Sept. 1. She aims to create 50 bags.