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room – share what you’ve got,’ urged Noreen Oliver.
‘Whenever someone in the public eye talks of their
recovery, it inspires others to do the same,’ said Chip
Somers, chief executive of Focus 12, as he
introduced former client Russell Brand (whose large
white German Shepherd dog leapt onto the speakers’
desk, much to Rosanna O’Connor’s surprise).
‘I want this message of abstinence-based
recovery to reach everybody,’ said Brand. ‘Addiction
seems like such a hopeless condition when you’re
using. Because of support from other addicts I’ve
got a chance.’
The only way to get people to ‘stay clean’ was
through support and a sense of purposefulness and
togetherness. There was still demonisation of a
section of society, but ‘till we have a
compassionate approach we won’t solve the
problem,’ he said.
Stuart Honor of The Basement Recovery Project
(TBRP) demonstrated the power of ‘social
contagion’ in creating recovery communities. ‘We
are stronger in shoals,’ he said. ‘The number of
people in your network correlates with personal and
social recovery capital.’
TBRP’s recovery community centres gave
opportunities to create long-term pathways, and the
graduates – ‘community builders’ – thrived on giving
peer support. ‘Visible change happens when we
harness strength in the community,’ he said.
Abstinence was just a necessary part of this process:
‘You have to turn off the water to mend the plumbing.’
Kevin Kennedy – Curly Watts from
Coronation
Street
– echoed this view of recovery in sharing his
story. As his acting career had begun to rise, so did
his drinking – ‘I drank because I liked it. I enjoyed
the pub, the camaraderie – until it all went wrong.
‘In 1997 I thought I’d discovered the secret of
the universe – the morning drink,’ he said. After
being sent by Granada to rehab, he began attending
AA meetings ‘because I thought I was being watched
by the press’. But he learned to love the ‘humble
scout hut’ because it was keeping him well.
‘This is a shame-based illness – the only way
out of it is abstinence,’ he said. While on holiday he
visited a dry bar and came home determined to set
one up in his home town of Brighton. ‘What better
way to show off we’re in recovery,’ he said. ‘It’s
important we change people’s view of what
recovery’s about.’
Having an acceptance of the recovery culture was
‘crucial’ in prisons, said RAPt’s chief executive, Mike
Trace. RAPt’s answer to building recovery communities
was to have large peer networks, he said, supporting
people to make the emotional changes that helped
them to make progress. ‘The “what happens next?”
is our biggest headache,’ he said – making sure they
had recovery capital in good quality accommodation,
friendship networks and employment prospects.
Russell Brand, RAPt’s newest patron, underlined
the need for mutual support.
‘There’s a currency of kindness,’ he said. ‘We
only stay well by helping other people to stay well.
‘Abstinence-based recovery is bloody hard,’ he
added. ‘We’re all in this together.’
The other important element of the conference
was to look at funding opportunities, including the
Give It Up Fund, launched by Russell Brand and
managed by Comic Relief.
Gilly Green of Comic Relief explained that with
£500,000 raised to date, the fund aimed ‘to
promote abstinence-based recovery, increase access
to treatment, help sustain long-term recovery and
reduce stigma towards those with addictions.’
Applicants could present a clear vision for a
recovery community, using effective local
partnerships, for a grant of up to £70,000, or could
apply for the small grants programme, which would
fund smaller activities with up to £5,000.
Further opportunities were offered by Dominic
Ruffy of the Amy Winehouse Foundation, who said
their organisation – already involved in a schools
programme in partnership with Addaction – could
offer grants for projects on recovery.
‘Be creative,’ said Noreen Oliver. ‘Think of all the
things out there built by service users. Work with
agencies in partnership, tap into community assets.’
Carl Cundall of Sheffield Alcohol Support Services
(SASS) had an encouraging message for those who
thought a drug-using or dealing past might blight
their opportunities. You have a CV of transferable
skills, he said, such as excellent networking and
problem-solving, being highly motivated and being
able to manage people effectively.
That was one of the many benefits of recovery,
he said – ‘it gives you the opportunity to watch
people transform their lives.’
DDN
February 2014 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 19
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Recovery |
Creating Recovery conference
Last month’s Creating Recovery conference was as
much about establishing the criteria for ‘recovery’
funding as about celebrating recovery, as
DDN
reports.
Photos by
Simon Brandon
, courtesy of RAPt
‘The “what
happens
next?” is
our biggest
headache.’
MIKE TRACE
‘We only
stay well by
helping other
people to
stay well.’
RUSSELL BRAND
‘...the secret
of the
universe –
themorning
drink’
KEVINKENNEDY