Recovering Together Cafés and Deck
By Katthe Wolf and Stephen Bora
Be Strong Families is pleased to announce that our new Recovering Together Cafés and the accompanying conversation deck are completed and ready to be deployed to support people on their journey to recovery. This mission began over a year ago when Be Strong Families was approached by agencies in the recovery community to respond to the opioid crisis by adapting our Parent Cafés with a specific focus on peer-to-peer conversations to support the recovery process. Ultimately, we partnered with two agencies—NET Centers in Philadelphia, an organization that is nationally recognized for being a leader in recovery transformation through the implementation of recovery management principles as reflected in a Recovery Oriented System of Care. We also partnered with Greater Tilton Area Family Resource Center in New Hampshire, a nonprofit that works with individuals and families to remove personal and environmental obstacles to recovery while supporting the establishment of connections to the recovery community, and supporting individual and family recovery. Combining the expertise of NET and Greater Tilton in the content area of addiction and recovery with Be Strong Families’ expertise in developing and sustaining meaningful conversations provided the opportunity for a collaboration that aims to have a significant impact on the journey to recovery.
Although we began with the hope to create a Café resource for people struggling with recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, at the first design meeting the team realized that everyone is in recovery from something in their lives. Everyone has something to get past and may be looking for a way to move forward. And many of us know people struggling with recovery and we can make an effort to be part of their process. People heal in community. With these realizations, we decided to call this Café series Recovering Together: Conversations to Promote Recovery and Well-Being.
The process for developing the Cafés was participatory, including more than 50 stakeholders with lived experience affiliated with NET and Greater Tilton. They assisted with both developing and vetting questions. In addition, NET and Greater Tilton content experts took the lead in developing a foundations training that will be part of Be Strong Families' Recovering Together Café Institutes. This introductory 1/2 day workshop will ground people learning how to host the cafés in the philosophy behind them, and in the basics of the recovery process.
Right now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals under enormous stress are challenged to sustain their recovery. Substance use and misuse can undermine the strength of all families, especially economically and socially vulnerable families. The pain of relapse is endured by everyone who is in a loving relationship with the person struggling with substance misuse. Recovering Together Cafés provide an opportunity for individuals, families, and communities to grow together toward positive change. Participants in these Cafés will find they are not alone, and that they have the personal and collective strength necessary to let go of shame, stigma, and guilt, and move forward. These cafés aim to facilitate, enhance, and sustain healthy transformation.
Decks are due to arrive in early August and our first Recovering Together Training Institute will be hosted in early September. Contact info@bestrongfamilies.net for more information.
