Sarah Flynn worked in the mental health and substance misuse fields for over 40 years, before retiring in June 2025. She was appointed a Trustee of the charity North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) in late 2017 and became Chairperson of the Board of Trustees. She has been involved in a wide range of activities with NWRC, as described below, and has been a staunch advocate of this inspiring recovery initiative. In 2015, she delivered the first sessions of the Moving On In My Recovery (MOIMR) programme, along with James Deakin, at Penrhyn House, the residential part of NWRC.
You can read Sarah’s Story in my new book Transforming Pain Into Power: The Story of North Wales Recovery Communities. Below, she describes some of her amazing experiences at NWRC.
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I find it virtually impossible to remember or imagine my life B.P. (Before Penrhyn). Although I am not in Recovery myself, my passion for that particular ‘tribe’ is all-consuming. Most of my best friends are in recovery, many of the events I attend are recovery-focused, and I spend my ‘free’ time volunteering for recovery projects. So, from where did this passion come?
The simple answer is that I got involved because James Deakin asked me. Maybe he saw me as a soft touch, maybe he thought I was wealthy, maybe he thought that if I believed in something I would stick with it through thick and thin. I would like to believe it was the latter, but you would have to ask him about that! I remember thinking that the ideas he was describing to give people something to do at weekends and in the evening seemed sensible and do-able.
My working life has encompassed working in mental health, forensic units, prisons, and finally in substance misuse. It has made me realise how lucky I was to have the parents and the upbringing that I had. Loved and nurtured throughout my life, never judged but supported, and allowed to grow. These were all things that I thought were a RIGHT of all children. Now I know that I was lucky to be given these gifts. Maybe that’s really why I continue to be around NWRC after 10 years. I know I’ve been lucky, and I want to ‘pay it back.’
So, what does my involvement look like? I have cooked meals, run various groups, walked, run, gardened, given advice, tidied up, hugged people, and examined and cared for NWRC members’ feet on the 100-mile walks. Laughed, cried, held new babies, patted dogs, made curtains, and obtained items off Facebook. Looking at that list, I have acted as a parent, sibling, good friend; whatever people need. I’m part of the wonderful dysfunctional family that is NWRC.
And it’s not a one-way street. NWRC gives back! I want to try and demonstrate the length and breadth of the phenomenon that is NWRC. I thought I might do it as a ‘Top Ten’ amazing experiences that I have been able to enjoy during the past decade. However, I have to say that it’s not all been sunshine and roses. There have been dark and hard times too. Losing people who have relapsed and are never coming back; fighting the stigma of being ‘a bunch of addicts’, and the difficulties in sticking to doing things in a different way because you just know it works.
The first entry in my Top Ten was captured in a photo that is still on the wall of Penrhyn House. It was taken outside the front door and shows a group of about 12 people. They had just attended the first ever MOIMR Group that was held in Penrhyn. It was a proud moment, a beginning filled with trepidation and excitement. Ten years later, this programme still runs every week at Penrhyn and in many other sites across Wales. It has helped thousands of people to learn skills, find a voice, and change their life.
Number 2 in my Recovery Charts is our first Dry Bar. An evening event held at a local venue with live music, great food, and NO ALCOHOL OR DRUGS. This was our first move into allowing people to experience a great social experience without psychoactive substances. This answered the often-asked question: ‘How will I enjoy myself if I’m sober/straight?’
And so to Number 3, and that involves sanitary towels, foreign travel, and paying back. In 2017, I went to Kenya. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? My trip was to visit a Charity project in rural Kenya that I had been supporting for several years. In 2016, I visited for the first time and decided I needed to go again. Penrhyn House got involved and raised money, so that we could build a house for a widow and her children to help her get back on her feet.
Then they all helped to cut out and pack the materials for 1,100 re-usable sanitary towels. Another wonderful photo for my collection. I then went to Kenya with my friend Lynda, a lady in Recovery who had told me she had never dreamed that she could make a trip like that. So, there we were, in Kenya. NWRC going International and proving that Giving Back can be everybody’s business.
Number 4 is our Celebration Days, especially 2018 when we were able to not only listen to the stories of people in Recovery, but also the stories of their families’ heartaches that were turned to gratitude and happiness with the help of NWRC.
Number 5 was a Gong Bath that we arranged at Penrhyn House. A completely new experience for most people. Bathing in the sound waves from the Tibetan Gongs was emotional and opened up many opportunities to try new experiences to heal the mind.
Number 6 saw a minibus full of the NWRC community travelling to Middlesbrough for the UKRF Annual Convention and Recovery Walk. A sea of purple walking through the middle of the town, a union of Recovery communities from all over the country, and speakers from as far afield as America.
Number 7 was the 100-mile walk in Pembrokeshire in 2023. My first experience of the whole week away with NWRC. Counselling, logistics, negotiation, catering, and foot care. Tears, tantrums, laughter, and blisters. That week had it all! I felt that NWRC tested me to my absolute limits.
Number 8 was the Service of Remembrance and Hope that took place at Bangor Cathedral in September 2023. A beautiful space to celebrate our thriving community and remember those friends who did not make it. I was honoured to have a place in that service.
Number 9 was the 2024 Penrhyn Panto. An overflowing house of guests witnessed a re-write of the Nativity by Ben. All the residents had bespoke roles and played them with enthusiasm. The message of the Nativity was still there, and the sense of achievement, community, and fun was immense.
Number 10 are the Penrhyn babies. Our NWRC family is growing. People who met at NWRC and pursued their Recovery journeys together have now had children! They are the future. They are feeling the benefit of all the learning that their parents have done the hard way. They are having the best start; hopefully, they will have resilience and always feel supported and secure. The childhood that I had. The best start in life. Thank you for all my wonderful memories, NWRC members.
Sarah (right) is with Alex Magson in the above photograph.