Blog

During this time, I fell in love with climbing, and found solace in the mountains. I climbed all around Europe and further afield. I spent a good deal of time outdoors in Wales connecting with nature, which had a huge positive impact on me. After joining the Board of AGRO, I met...

James told Wulf he wanted to build a genuine recovery community, with the residential part of NWRC to be integrated with the surrounding community. Penrhyn House residents would be allowed to go out into the community, whilst people from the outside community in need of help in overcoming addiction could attend the...

Recovery is something done by the person with a substance use problem, not by a treatment practitioner. Treatment or engagement in mutual aid groups may facilitate recovery, but they do so by catalysing and supporting natural processes of recovery in the individual. A second feature of recovery from a serious substance...

By 2010, I was full of passion and enthusiasm, and wanting to set up a recovery group outside the treatment system. At the first Recovery Academy conference in Glasgow, I was totally inspired by Mark Gilman and his ideas, particularly around recovery, and the need for...

Yet, progress was made. A small nucleus of recovery-orientated folk began to inhabit the space. The proverbial acorn took root, sprouted, and began to turn into a small tree. Ten years on, NWRC has grown beyond recognition from the first few months. Progress has been...

Ironically, it is recovery communities like NWRC that understand how to help people overcome such problems, and are helping people find connection: to other people, to their environment, and to themselves. They are not just doing that in their own recovery community, but also...

But the key to change, honestly, is that you have a healing environment that’s filled with people who see you. Who make you feel that you belong. Because what they then allow you to do, is that when you are in need of a regulatory interaction where somebody just is present, you can do that. When you’re in need of somebody...

I will add a blog post focused on NWRC in some way or other on every day of May.... Most of the posts will be one page summaries of various chapters from the book, including summaries of Recovery Stories chapters, I have written. Wulf and Sarah will also be contributing...

This marks a new chapter for Bwyd Da, and we are incredibly grateful for the continued support from Bangor BID, our investors, and the community. Together, we are building something even stronger—preserving everything that makes Bwyd Da special while securing its future for years to come.

'One important factor that contributed to my early recovery was the fact that I spent a good deal of time with people who were in the same boat as me, people who were also trying to overcome their drink problems. I could relate to the other patients, and we had a mutual...

The book is tentatively called 'Transforming Pain Into Power: Recovering From Addiction and Helping Communities Thrive'. It has involved Zoom conversations with 16 individuals; in the vast majority of cases, we have connected Perth (Western Australia) and North Wales on more than one occasion for each person.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has attempted to support us over the last few difficult weeks, our amazingly customer base who have supported us consistently over the past 3 years and to the remainder of our steering group partners, especially Gwynedd Council who know the truth behind the...

At a far more pragmatic level, for individuals in early recovery, trying to make changes, then just being with other individuals who have achieved a long period of recovery becomes inspirational and motivational. Recovery is contagious. The infectious positives of...

'I was invited by The National Lottery and Allwyn as one of their Game Changers to further participate in their 30th birthday celebrations and to meet Members of The Senedd to talk about what we're up to in Wrexham and the positive ripple effect we've been having across Wales for nearly 10 years.' Marcus Fair, Eternal Media Founder

Bwyd Da Bangor was never a conventional commercial enterprise. It was founded with the Health Board’s backing as a multi-functional social venture - promoting local food producers, supporting a food club, employing and training those in recovery, maintaining a food bank, and serving as a community hub.... Crucially, it was never meant to rely solely on commercial viability. A portion of its costs was always intended to be underwritten by the Health Board. That commitment was abandoned...