Page 56 - Spring 2021

To be honest, mental health isn’t talked enough
about across the board, certainly not with kids that have abusive, neglectful backgrounds and certainly not enough with recovery. – Holly Barker
Angels in Oconee
Couple saves child from cycle of addiction
By Julia Fechter
“Addiction doesn’t just affect the person struggling with substance abuse,” Holly Barker professed as she reflected on her family’s life story. “It’s really important to include the family and help them go through their own recovery.”
When Holly’s nephew, Nathaniel, was born, his biological parents struggled with drug addiction.
Holly and her husband, Dustan, wrestled with how to intervene. After some time living with his grandfather, Nathaniel was eventually given a more permanent home with the Barkers, who were granted emergency guardianship of Nathaniel in December 2016. The next month, the 8-year-old boy started the second half of his second grade semester at Rocky Branch Elementary School. That March, their lives changed even more when Nathaniel’s biological father, who was Holly’s brother, died from a drug overdose.
The Barkers officially adopted Nathaniel Oct. 19, 2019 just five days after he celebrated his 11th birthday.
Over the past three years, the Bogart family has passionately advocated for people grappling with substance addiction. They work regularly with Acceptance Recovery Center, a long-term recovery residence in Athens. Almost one year exactly after the Barkers officially adopted Nathaniel, U.S. House Rep. Jody Hice
recognized Dustan and Holly as 2020 Angels in Adoption Honorees.
Before Nathaniel’s arrival, the Barkers did not have any children. They learned that raising a child from a traumatic background takes a village. For example, they found a counselor, as well as occupational and physical therapists, to work with Nathaniel. They were proud to be a part of big moments in Nathaniel’s life, like learning to ride a bicycle.
“The reaction on his face was one of those big moments for me,” said Dustan.
Nathaniel’s teachers had a big impact too. Holly said, “They were really great about how to be creative and engage him in class and find what he loves and is good at.”
Dustan added that in spite of learning disabilities that affected Nathaniel’s attention and reading, he began to do extremely well in some academic areas.
“A lot of that is due to the teachers and school system working with us,” Dustan said.
For the first two to three years Nathaniel lived with them, Dustan and Holly would take turns sleeping by themselves and then reading and sleeping with Nathaniel, who had not previously slept alone. There was an epiphany one night when Dustan
Holly and Dustan’s adoption of Nathaniel became official on Oct. 19, 2019 outside the Oconee County courthouse.
sJulia Fechter is a news reporter for The Oconee Enterprise newspaper in Watkinsville, Ga. PAGE 54 | OCONEE THE MAGAZINE | SPRING 2021