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NWRC was approached and subsequently commissioned to establish and run the café, with the assurance that a package of support funding would be provided to sustain the venture in the long-term. This was on the basis of key advice and guidance provided by representatives of the Crisis Café on the original study visit, who highlighted...

I am really upset and angry that Bwyd Da Bangor, the ethically and environmentally sustainable café/restaurant run by North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) is being forced to close. I know that members of NWRC and staff and volunteers at Bwyd Da Bangor are not only very upset, but deeply frustrated. Let me explain.

When I find myself in a ‘down’ period, questioning my ability to tell the overall story in the powerful way I wish, my spirits are always lifted by viewing these films, listening to the moving words and music. I then once again feel so proud to be working in this field.

The MOIMR programme was developed by asking people in recovery what helped them most early in their recovery (e.g., what topics were most important to consider and what strategies and techniques were most helpful to them). The programme addresses many topics related to mental wellbeing and substance misuse (e.g., how to...

When I came to Australia in late-2008, I again rarely heard the word ‘trauma’ used, even by addiction treatment services. I didn’t think a great deal about this matter until I read Judy Atkinson’s book 'Trauma Trails: Recreating Songlines—The Transgenerational Effects of Trauma in Indigenous Australia', which just blew me away. I didn’t just learn about trauma and how so many Aboriginal...

... recognising strengths and being given optimistic messages of recovery potential (from friends and family, professionals, carers, peers) whilst witnessing the recovery journeys of others made a positive impact on...

The #IronSharpensIron campaign strives to create a culture and a community where individuals feel safe and empowered to lean on one another, grow together, and overcome addiction through their shared strength and resilience. Whether you are an individual struggling with addiction, an individual in recovery, or a family member...

In the first instance, Wulf describes that Penryhn House was developed so that it was porous to the outside community—people can come into Penryhn to attend mutual aid groups, for example, whilst residents of Penryhn are allowed to interact out in the community.

I was terrified when I moved into Penryhn House. I had such low self-esteem and all my insecurities surfaced. I arrived with all my possessions in one holdall bag, which I didn’t unpack for two weeks. I was still unsure whether this recovery thing was what I wanted. However, I slowly convinced myself that I should try and if it didn’t work...

I invited Mark to create a piece of Forum Theatre for the students attending my Clinical Masters course on addiction that focused on the dilemmas faced by people recovering from heroin addiction. The class was a huge success, and Mark was really touched by the positive reception and feedback he received from the students.

David was invited to an inspirational 12-Step graduation ceremony at HM Prison Lancaster Farms, where he witnessed a level of emotional intensity and gratitude, along with a collective feeling of empowerment and belonging, that he had never seen whilst working at the so-called centre for excellence, the National Addiction...

‘Even when you’re in pain. Even when you are really hurting. Even when you are feeling really broken, you can actually get through these challenges. But not on your own, as a team. As a community, we do it together. That’s how we get well. Stuff like this is just priceless, and it’s kind of spreading the message that recovery is a really...

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 who is...

David describes two important aims for recovery communities or groups: Can the connectedness of recovery communities inspire similar changes more broadly across the wider community? Can they be the glue or the inspiration for re-engaging a range of excluded and marginalised groups and individuals?

The idea in conducting this expedition in was two-fold. Firstly, to give the Penryhn residents an occasion where they would go way beyond anything they thought they could achieve. Where they would experience, and overcome, extreme hardship. Secondly, to challenge...