In Monday’s blog post, Wulf introduced you to Gary Rutherford of ARC Fitness in Derry-Londonderry in Northern Ireland, and provided a link to his People page that was launched that day. This latter page contains links to the 13 main films (totalling just under 80 minutes) edited from their Recovery Voices conversation, along with written summaries. This, quite simply, was an awesome conversation.
I also edited the conversation into short (generally less than three minutes) Theme clips which are available in total as a YouTube Playlist (32 films, totalling just under 70 mins). Here are the individual films that make up this Playlist:
1. My Connection With Alcohol [2’54”]
‘… we have a lot of anxiety and trauma in our society. I was afraid of everything, and I just found something that worked for me at that age. But the problem for me is that it was that immediate connection with alcohol was so destructive… it was so passionate. And I chased it, and I looked after it, and I longed after it…’
2. Drinking Culture & Taking Ownership [2’08”]
Gary explains that when you come from a culture where drinking is so socially acceptable, it is easier to hide your own drinking. His first conversation about alcohol dependence was at the age of 17. He didn’t get sober until he was 30.
3. An Identity Shift [2’40”]
‘… my identity started the shift from being somebody struggling with addiction, to being somebody who focused on their health and who loved to run. And I was surrounded by people who saw me through this different lens, and that was refreshing for me because I had always been under the impression throughout my recovery that this long-term condition was going to follow me everywhere and be the defining thing about me.’
4. Recovery Needs a Foundation [2’57”]
‘So, just like a house needs a foundation, I think recovery needs that foundation of physical, emotional and nutritional foundation, before we can start unpacking all those years of trauma and pain. So, that’s where I suppose the idea [of ARC] came from.
5. Early Days of ARC Fitness [3’01”]
Touches on various themes including the importance of relationships, serendipity, generosity, measuring outcomes, and not having a clear directional goal at the beginning.
6. Being Visible [1’49”]
‘… how do we expect people to reach forward, put out their hands and say they’re struggling if they feel that they don’t have the permission to be able to do that? So let’s give people the permission.’
7. Creating Community [2’00”]
‘We then created a community. And communities can be very difficult to manage, okay. They are a pleasure to be part of, but it can be very difficult to be the person who is trying to navigate it.’
8. Lived Experience & Being Fair [2’05”]
Gary emphasises that people in recovery want to give back all the time, and that’s really important. However, their experience and work has to be valued properly. ARC treats recovering people as Facilitators and pays them for their time. Gary believes that it is easy for recovering people to be taken advantage of by organisations because of their passion and desire to give back.
9. What is ARC Fitness Today? [2’20”]
ARC moved from being a six-week recovery programme to being so much more, particularly after gaining a corporate sponsor, an e-learning company from Derry (Learning Pool) who really bought into the vision and the fact that ARC was trying to help people.
10. It’s Okay to Have an Issue [1’23”]
’It’s a real privilege to be able to sit in this situation because it was a life that I never thought that I would see…. I think I felt that it was okay to be someone who struggled. And I think if we could create that culture…’
11. It’s Not Been a Walk in the Park [0’22”]
‘I didn’t come with the skills naturally to run a community voluntary organisation. It was never a setting that I worked in. I had to learn really fast about funding, about all the things that come with that, as well as the politics of the community voluntary sector.’
12. Our Recovery Programme [2’25”]
Education is an important part of the Recovery Programme. ARC helps people understand addiction, as well as its causes and biology. There is a strong Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) component, to help people understand their thoughts, behaviours, cravings, and understand the impact of environmental cues. There is a good deal of education around mental health.
13. Open to All, But Keeping People Safe [3’34”]
ARC meets people where they are at and provides various options, including harm reduction work. However, community members must not feel vulnerable to substance use. ARC must maintain a safe environment. ‘If people don’t feel safe, they can’t be vulnerable, and if you can’t be vulnerable, I don’t think you can open up and grow and change.’
14. Accountability [1’55”]
Early on, Gary realised that there needed to be accountability within the organisation, and he needed to be accountable. He set up a Board which helped with accountability and safety matters…. ARC’s code of conduct has played an important role.
15. The Challenge of Relapse, Part 1 [2’26”]
Relapse has been one of the biggest challenges for Gary. He has had to create a relapse ‘structure’ and relapse ‘pathway’. This is really important when there are lots of people on ARC’s waiting list, whilst others may be on the programme but not engaging.
16. The Challenge of Relapse, Part 2 [1’25”]
Wulf has found the issue of relapse in other recovery communities to be a difficult one. Things can become quite tense. The person may have good relationships with other community members before they relapse, but then various negative emotions can arise. Sometimes, it even becomes quite personal.
17. A Growing Community [1’52”]
Wulf stresses how things must change and be reframed as a recovery community grows. Things can’t be done in the same way with large numbers as they were with small numbers. Gary points out that is why leadership has to be so strong.
18. ARC Funding [2’45”]
Gary points out that ARC does not have government funding. They receive core funding from the National Lottery, but this does not cover all their costs. They have a lot of other funders. ARC has to do a great deal of fundraising.
19. Government & Government Funding [1’41”]
Gary doesn’t think that government funding is the answer to ARC’s longevity. He will always have to be creative to attract funding. Wulf points out that some recovery communities do get government funding, but they risk the problem of government trying to change them into something they are not.
20. Let’s Work Together [2’33”]
For Gary, working with other organisations is really important. ‘And maybe that’s how we look at the funding landscape moving forward. Maybe it’s less about, “Look at how great we are,” and more like “Look at how wonderful the services in the north-west of Northern Ireland are.”’
21. The Magic at ARC, Part 1 (The Team) [2’09”]
Gary says that the team of people at ARC have contributed to the magic and success of the organisation. All but one person have been there from the start of the journey. Team members work in areas where their strength shines through. They get the fact that ARC is an evolving and emerging organisation.
22. The Magic at ARC, Part 2 (How We Do It) [2’11”]
Gary points out that there was a time when ARC was trying to do everything driven by demand. However, as part of their honesty and transparency, the ARC team recognised that they either do everything by half, or they focus on what they do really well. And that meant saying ‘no’ to things, which Gary points out was sometimes difficult. Being honest with themselves has been key.
23. ARC’s Corporate Work [1’32”]
ARC does some corporate work because they need to pay the bills. They run employee assistance programmes and wellbeing workshops. They have the appropriate skill sets within the team, and they accept that things sometimes have to be done through necessity. These activities are also done to an exceptionally high standard.
24. The Magic at ARC, Part 3 (Seeing Success) [1’03”]
Gary gets the pleasure of hearing on a daily basis of people who have run marathons since they’ve achieved recovery, or are doing triathlons, or they’ve got their kids back from care. They may be back at school, or they are working, or they are now addiction recovery coaches with a professional accreditation. ‘That’s the magic.’
25. Family Support Work [1’34”]
Gary says that it is really good to be able to support people who can’t make the breakthrough with the person who is having a substance use problem. To help them learn communication skills, to empower them to be okay despite the chaos. And then to see them a few months later having changed.
26. An Outsider’s View of the Northern Ireland Context [1’38”]
In response to Wulf’s ‘outsider summary’, Gary says that is his cultural context. ‘So, for me, that’s just life here. So, knowing how to navigate conversations from people who you know from different political backgrounds… how you talk to people, how you engage… We’ve had to be really good at not offending people.’
27. Trauma, Drugs, Despair & Paramilitary Organisations [2’52”]
‘At the end of the day, as much as paramilitarianism controls communities, communities are in despair. And there is nowhere for their people to go…. I can act as a place where the people can come, and at least get some kind of support…’
28. Community Change [3’11”]
There are loads of gyms in Derry. It didn’t really need another one, other than one like ARC. One that is a visible recovery community. What Gary and his team have been trying to do is change the landscape by encouraging and inspiring other organisations.
29. Not Knowing What It Would Look Like [2’19”]
Gary knew in his heart that he wanted to use his experiences to help and support people, but he didn’t know what it was going to look like. He thinks sometimes that we don’t have to know what it’s going to look like. But we have to try things.
30. Building a Foundation for Community Recovery [1’29”]
‘… this has taught me more about resilience. Because it takes you out there in a completely different set of circumstances, out of your comfort zone, managing people, finances, doing things that you never thought… I find myself in meetings and I’m like, “How did I get here?” And it creates and builds that resilience.’
31. What is the Connection Between Physical Activity and Recovery? [3’04”]
‘So, if you willingly engage in something that’s difficult and you do it enough times and you do it regularly, then you become resilient…. And that translates to recovery, because for me, recovery is just resilience in motion. That’s literally what it is. It’s every day, it’s getting stronger and stronger and stronger.’
32. Individual & Group Exercise [2’06”]
Whenever Gary did strength training and CrossFit, it was community focused. You did it in a group and everybody was in it together. In the ARC group sessions, when everybody does the same thing at the same time, people bond and there is camaraderie. And that community part is really important.
Gary’s Biography:
Gary Rutherford is a registered Mental Health Nurse professional and Addiction Therapist. In 2019, he launched ARC Fitness, a Derry ~ Londonderry (Northern Ireland) based non-profit organisation that supports individuals impacted negatively by addiction and substance use, through physical activity, professional support, and community. Gary is also a person in long-term recovery from substance use problems, something that drives him to advocate and provide hope for others.
Gary’s unique approach towards supporting individuals as they get, and stay on, the road to recovery has been highly commended. Gary’s work has been recognised by the Royal College of Nursing, awarding him ‘RCN Nurse of the Year’ 2022.